


Freeway of Love (In a Pink Cadillac)

by MsHydeStylinson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sugar Daddy, Anal Sex, BDSM, Blow Jobs, Cosplay, Daddy Kink, Exhibitionism, Hand Jobs, Happy Ending, Harry is 40, Key West, Louis is 22, M/M, Miami, Paddling, Pink Cadillac, Rimming, Roleplay, Smut, Sugar Baby Louis, Sugar Daddy Harry, Vacation, alcohol consumption, fun in the sun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:15:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27457078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsHydeStylinson/pseuds/MsHydeStylinson
Summary: “Did you like them?” Louis asked in a seductive tone, propping his elbow against the armrest, chin resting against his fingers.“I’m not going to answer that,” Harry informed, lips pressed in a hard line.“I don’t think you have to,” Louis smirked nodding slightly towards his telltale bulge and watched as Harry reddened from his neck to his forehead in a flash.”Please, I beg you to put that phone away,” Harry pleaded with a suffering expression plastered on his face.“Please…” Harry whined.Or,Louis was on his way to Miami to visit an old friend. Harry was going there for a little R&R and take in the sights and sounds.  A sudden upgrade in seating brought these polar opposites together. The universe works in mysterious ways and they are unknowingly about to embark on an adventure they will surely remember for a lifetime.Prompt 107: Sugar daddy AU inspired by this tweet: “going to sit next to the richest looking middle aged man on my flight and scroll through my nudes for three hours straight” with rich daddy Harry and bratty baby Louis
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 167
Kudos: 504
Collections: Bottom Louis Fic Fest 2020





	Freeway of Love (In a Pink Cadillac)

**Author's Note:**

> When I saw this prompt, I immediately knew I wanted to write a fic around it. Almost as quickly, I had the outlines of the plot in my mind. My intention was to write a carefree fic after a break-up fic, and I think it worked quite well — if I do say so myself. The whole writing process was also fun and I hope it shows as a result. Hope you all enjoy the fic as much as I do! 
> 
> As always, a huge thank you goes to Jennie [Canadianlarrie](http://canadianlarrie.tumblr.com) . You’re the best beta one could hope for! And a smut writer! How could I almost forget that? All the credit for the smut goes to her. P.S. caution, it’s steamy!
> 
> Thanks and appreciation go out to the mods for organizing this fest and posting useful writing tips! 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always welcome. But when leaving constructive feedback, please, choose your words kindly.
> 
> Disclaimer: This is not real, never happened, complete fiction, etc. Please do not take any of this seriously, as it is all fake. Please do not translate or repost on any other site without my permission.

****

**Day 1, Friday**

_He’s so fucking fit_ , Louis thought to himself as he watched the tall man with gorgeous curls stride down the crowded gate in the JFK departure terminal. At that moment he knew this man was the one. A bespoke suit, Gucci suitcases, expensive jewellery — everything about him radiated money. 

Slyly, Louis nodded his head towards the man heading to the priority check-in. He glanced over at Zayn who stood behind the desk at the passenger concierge station as he discreetly gestured back that he received Louis’ sign. Leaning his hip against the wall nearby, Louis stared at this man from behind his fringe, making it appear that he was scrolling through his phone. 

Louis estimated the man was probably in his early forties, which only added to his appeal. Being older usually equals more wealth, and it was what all this was about, after all. The money and the grift. Well, perky little bum, lithe legs, and shortly-cut chocolate curls didn’t do any harm either. 

Several less-than-desirable candidates had passed Louis before ‘sex on legs’ appeared, and Louis had found his mark. He quickly lowered his gaze back to his iPhone when Curly passed in front of him. When he was about ten yards away, he turned to glance at Louis — and almost tripped over his feet. The flush of embarrassment tinted his cheeks as he hurried on towards the security control. Still grinning, Louis walked to Zayn and propped his arms against the counter.

“You got it?” Louis asked his best friend in a conspiratorial tone.

“Of course,” Zayn smirked, handing Louis over his new, freshly printed boarding pass. “He’s in 5A and you’ve been upgraded from 28C to business class 5B.”

“Can you at least tell me his name?” Louis requested with a toothy smile.

“Sorry, can’t do that, man. Privacy rules and all, you know,” Zayn laughed cheekily as he shook his head from side to side. “Besides, even if I could, why would I ruin the fun? Isn’t that part of your little game?”

“Hmm… Guess so,” Louis admitted. “But did you see him? He’s so fucking fit!” Louis appraised, this time outwardly, as they both turned their heads to locate the curly-haired guy about to go through security.

“Why are you still here, then? Go after him! Do whatever you’re planning to do,” Zayn encouraged him with a wink, and Louis didn’t have to be told twice.

“Thanks, Z,” Louis waved his boarding pass and scurried towards security.

“Have fun!” Zayn shouted after him. 

“I intend to!” Louis turned and replied, wiggling his eyebrows. “Catch you later, and thanks again, I owe you one!”

The security zone was a crowded mess and more than once, Louis had cursed his fellow travellers to the deepest pits of hell. How difficult is it to place all the items mentioned across multiple information boards onto the trays ready to be examined via the x-ray? Or take off their belts, or remove loose change from their pockets? 

With the hustle now behind him, Louis could think about his next move. He looked around to find the guide signs and when he noticed “Lounge” written on one of them, he headed that way. He had lounge access, so it was more than likely that Curly would have one too. He had enough time before his flight would board; why not spend it in a tranquil area instead?

“Good morning, sir,” the attendant behind the counter greeted Louis when he arrived at the modern entrance minutes later. “May I see your boarding pass?”

“Sure. There you are,” Louis passed it to her, smiling.

“Thank you,” she smiled, and after tapping something into the computer, she welcomed Louis to the Flagship Lounge. “Here is the access code for WiFi. We don’t announce the flight, so please monitor the screens for your flight information.”

“I will, thank you,” Louis politely promised her before entering the lounge. 

He halted in the middle of the corridor, opened his camera app, and used it as a mirror to check his hair. He quickly arranged it with his fingers and when he was satisfied with the result, he shoved the phone back into his pocket. He looked around and wandered through the bar and dining area until he reached something that appeared to be the main seating area of the lounge. Half of the seats were occupied but Curly wasn’t sitting in any of them. Louis made a quick scan around while trying to act like he was searching for the perfect spot to sit. 

Well, he was, but not solely. 

Louis was nearly ready to give up on finding him before the plane departs — spending three hours in a plane seated next to the man of his dreams should be enough for him — when he spotted a small, Mickey Mouse printed Gucci suitcase placed in front of a big armchair. It looked similar to the one Curly was carrying, Louis thought, slinging his own humble backpack down on a chair nearby. It wasn’t directly opposite to him but it gave Louis an excellent view of Curly should that bag actually belong to him. 

Assuming Curly did the same, Louis headed towards a large buffet table. He hummed with pleasure when he noticed a slender figure, donning a sleek suit, pouring himself a drink. In the last second, Louis detoured and made a quick stop to the restroom first. He washed his hands and double-checked his do; an artfully mussed hairstyle in which every strand of hair was carefully arrayed. A short stubble helped to create a rugged collegiate style. The reflection staring back from the mirror didn’t look too bad if he did say so himself. Now he crossed his fingers that Curly would find it appealing too. 

The other man had disappeared by the time Louis entered the room where the buffet table was located. Louis selected some fruit with cheese and crackers onto his plate and plucked a beer from the self-service bar fridge before returning to his seat. From a distance, he saw that he’d been right and Curly had returned to his chair. In true fateful fashion, he had an almost identical cheese platter with some fruit and a glass of red wine on the table next to him. When Louis sailed past him in his tight black jeans, he was able to feel the other man’s eyes aimed directly at his round bum. Louis placed his food on the table, bending slightly too low to allow Curly an up-close view of his backside. 

Louis sat down and focused on his phone again. Every now and then he picked at the food on his plate but ignored Curly completely. He wasn’t going to be that easy. If the guy was interested, he would do all the work and Louis hopefully would enjoy the harvest later. His disregard didn’t stop him from taking a better look at Daddy Warbucks though. Louis secretly snapped a pic of him after double-checking the flash wasn’t on. 

The photo wasn’t the best quality, sneaky pics hardly ever were, but decent enough to study his target. Gray slim-cut trousers hugged his legs, exposing trained muscles underneath. A fitted jacket, black dress shirt with a few of the top buttons undone, and black leather boots created a debonair look; Louis was almost sad he didn’t have any gray in his curls. Louis certainly had a weakness for silver foxes, he often admitted it openly. The only exception was himself; he wouldn’t allow even one gray wisp to sprout from his head. 

Nope. Never.

Louis emptied his beer can while scrolling through his social media accounts. He didn’t bother to raise his eyes despite the sense of curious glances aimed towards him every now and then. Unintentionally, his lips curved up; his little game of cat and mouse was already working!

“Umm— Excuse me?” A husky voice stirred Louis from his thoughts. The first thing he saw was a pair of pigeon-toed shoes parked next to his chair, then after slowly lifting his gaze, an abashed looking Curly stood in front of him, gnawing at his lower lip. 

“Yes...?” Louis gave him a radiating smile and the other man seemed to have relaxed, albeit slightly.

“I was just wondering if— umm— you could keep an eye on my luggage while I go to visit… there?” Curly winced, nodding his head towards the restrooms, twisting his hands awkwardly over his chest.

“Sure,” Louis promised willingly but couldn't help adding, “Last time you left them unattended but, of course, I can look after them now.”

Curly’s appearance sharpened immediately. “How do you know they were unattended?” he asked with a peculiar grin on his face. 

Shit, Louis cursed silently being such a blabbermouth. “Because I almost tripped over it earlier,” Louis whipped up a quick white lie to save his arse. 

“Oh, no!” Curly cried out, worry filling his eyes. “Are you alright? You didn’t hurt yourself did you?”

“No, I didn't,” Louis hurried to assure him. “I said I _almost_ tripped. Nothing happened.” 

“But could have,” Curly pouted, sounding so miserable that Louis had to bite his lip hard not to burst to a laugh. 

“I didn’t,” Louis soothed him. “But—”

“But what…?” Curly tilted his head, smiling. 

“Umm—” Louis forgot what he was saying. The smile on the other man’s face had not only revealed a row of perfect white teeth but also cratered his cheeks with dimples. If Louis had a weakness for silver foxes, he had an even bigger one for dimples. He just _loved_ them.

“Umm...?” Curly giggled aloud, immediately looking boyish as the simple gesture seemed to wash away at least fifteen years off his face.

Louis gulped labouredly when he stared at this charmingly bashful man. Then shaking his head slightly, he found his voice again and said, “I was about to say that perhaps there are ways you could compensate me for my suffering...” 

“Like, how…?” 

“I’ll leave that for you to decide,” Louis slowly brushed his lower lip with his thumb.

“Yeah, sure...” Curly’s Adam’s apple bobbed visibly, and Louis took that as a small victory as he watched him parade himself towards the restrooms.

Louis still had the same satisfied grin on his lips when Curly returned with a bottle of water for himself and a fresh beer for Louis.

“I’m Harry, by the way,” he stretched his hand out to Louis after placing the can of beer on the side table. His hand was sizable, and his grip firm. Louis could already imagine how his palms would fit impeccably around Louis’ arse cheeks. Every new trait of Cur— erm Harry, seemed to tick something off from Louis “Most Eligible Fuck” list. 

“Louis,” he muttered his name, after realising Harry was still waiting for it while Louis daydreamed about his hands rocking him back and forth. 

“Beautiful name,” Harry praised, smiling warmly and reversed back to his spot.

“Thanks,” Louis mumbled, looking down at his lap. A tiny compliment from Harry and Louis felt like a bloody teenager, blushing from delight. He had to get a grip. 

Now. 

Harry didn’t say anything, just nodded his head, eyes still glued to Louis. 

“Oh, and thanks for this,” Louis remembered, raising his Stella Artois when the silence was about to turn awkward.

“You’re welcome,” Harry smiled, taking a sip from his water. “So, you’re from England?”

“Wonder what gave me up?” Louis pronounced the words with an even thicker Yorkshire accent.

Harry grinned, guessing “From somewhere North?”

“Doncaster,” Louis admitted, nodding. “And you? You don’t sound like a born and bred New Yorker either.”

“No,” Harry shook his head. “I’m from Cheshire but lived in London for years before moving to New York City. I’ve lived there for over a decade now. Are you here for a visit?”

“I actually study in New York City. Drama,” Louis added proudly.

“You’re a student?” Harry sounded astonished, and asked frowning “How old are you, Louis?”

“How dare you ask my age!” Louis exclaimed appalled, pressing his flat palm against his chest.

“Just wanted to be sure...”

“Be sure of what, exactly?” Louis raised his brow in an effort to tease him. 

“Just, in general,” Harry shrugged, focusing again on his bottle of mineral water. 

“Is that so...?” Louis challenged him, mouth curving up into a smile, aiming for flirty, not pushy. 

“What else would I be inferring to?” Cheers!” Harry raised his bottle, stopping Louis’ enquiries with his gesture.

“Cheers,” Louis responded and took a swig from his beer. 

“Where are you flying to, Louis?”

“To Miami. To see my friend.” 

“Miami!” Harry sounded delighted. “I’m flying there too.”

“Oh, what a coincidence!” Louis widened his eyes, feigning surprise. “What airline?”

“American Airlines.”

“Me too.” 

“Really...? It must be the same flight then,” Harry thought aloud. Soon joy filled his eyes as excitement rang out in his voice. “Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to sit next to each other!”

“Wouldn’t that be a little spooky?” Louis wondered, keeping his poker-face. “Like we bump into each other here only to find out we are actually seated side by side.” 

“Speaking of the flight, the monitor says we should go to the gate,” Harry noticed, pointing to the screen on the wall behind Louis. “Want to walk with me there?”

“Sure,” Louis hurried to say. “Let me just make a quick stop to the restroom. The beer, you know.” 

“Mmm— of course,” Harry cleared his throat. “We’re not in a hurry yet and our gate shouldn’t be that far anyway. I can take your bag and meet you near the exit if you want.” Harry suggested, nodding towards Louis’ backpack.

“Oh, thanks. That sounds great,” Louis responded, handing his bag to Harry before leaving his seat. He spun around and eyed Harry suspiciously before adding with a wink, “Don’t pack anything illegal in my bag Harry.” He kept on walking, the distant sound of Harry’s offensive response “Heyyyyyy” trailing in the background.

_This is going better than well_ , Louis thought while washing his hands. This all had been a nice little warm-up, and Louis was ready to go all-in and put his pieces to play. 

A few moments later, Harry passed Louis his worn-out Rastafari coloured backpack which, compared to Harry’s luxury brand suitcase, didn't seem to belong in the airport lounge. To be honest, it didn’t only stay with the bags but all the clothing too; Harry’s expensive suit versus his own ripped jeans, loose black Nirvana tank top with a blue-green smiley on it, and layered with a denim jacket. It didn’t bother Louis, and if Harry’s gaze had anything to say, he wasn’t disapproving either. And right now, that was all that mattered.

Their gate wasn’t far from the lounge. After realising that, Harry stopped at Hudson’s on their way and returned carrying a thick paperback while Louis waited outside with their luggage. 

”What did you buy?” Louis asked curiously when they continued their journey through terminal eight. 

”A book.”

”I can see that, mate. Sorry for being vague. I should have led with, ‘Hey Smartass, what book did you buy?’” Louis said, rolling his eyes.

”It’s Murakami!” Enthusiasm filled Harry’s voice and his eyes filled with mirth.

”Japanese?” Louis asked, taking the book from Harry’s hand. Perhaps he was acting boldly but Harry didn’t seem to mind. ”The Wind-Up Bird Chronology by Haruki Murakami,” Louis read from the cover. ”Ugh, sounds boring.”

”Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Harry brandished his finger. 

”I’m not, just by the pages. And there are like, millions of them,” Louis winced. 

Harry took the book back and shoved it into one of his many bags. ”You don’t like to read?” he asked.

Louis shrugged but didn’t confirm or deny anything.

”I didn’t read much when I was younger either. But when I gave it a chance, it changed my whole life,” Harry marvelled when they arrived at their gate and parked themselves near the wide windows. “So, you should have plenty of time to learn to love reading.”

“Huh…?”

“You’re still relatively young,” Harry explained. “Studying and such.” 

”I’m twenty-two if you must know,” Louis lifted his chin to let Harry know what his opinion about his question was.

”Twenty-two...?” Harry arched his brow while checking Louis out from head to toe, barely holding back laughter, from the look on his face. 

_Like what the fuck?_

”And what’s wrong with twenty-two?” Louis asked, one fist pressed against his hip, and his now-irritated blue eyes aimed at the curly-haired man. ”I can show you ID if you don’t believe I’m legal.”

”No, no. It’s not that, it really isn’t,” Harry dared to laugh at him — light and cheerfully. 

”Am I too old for you?” Louis asked eyes narrowed, mouth twisting into a pout. 

”For me...?” Harry asked dimples appearing onto his cheeks, and Louis cursed himself again. 

”Whatever,” Louis threw his head back and marched closer to the gate entrance. Gate agents were communicating with walkie-talkies, signaling that boarding would likely begin within minutes. 

He leaned his back against the metallic rail near the end of the queue, arms folded over his chest. Every now and then he shot Harry offended glances, but the bastard didn’t even seem to notice them. He just began to talk to a guy — pretty attractive, Louis had to admit — standing next to him and making Louis fume.

_What the hell? That’s it?_

Did Harry already move onto some other guy? In front of Louis’ salad! No fucking way he would let that happen! Maybe he had to admit to himself that his one-man-protest didn’t work the way he had hoped it would, and prepared for the next act. He licked his lips and quickly arranged his fringe before parading over to Harry. 

”Harry...” Louis cooed and stroked his arm quickly and briskly.

”Yes, Louis?” Harry’s eyes aimed at the spot where Louis had just touched him.

”I’m sorry,” he batted his eyelashes. ”I didn’t mean to.”

”Mean what, Louis?”

”To get offended by your ageism.”

Harry burst into laughter. 

”What’s so funny now?” Louis scrunched his nose. 

”I’m just amazed at the way you are able to turn your own actions against me,” Harry said with his tongue pressed against his cheek.

”Oi—” Louis shouted but just then the gate agent made their first call and announced his flight, and Harry’s obviously, the group was ready to board. Harry leaped to the queue leaving a disgruntled Louis behind. He smiled at the agent while handing over his boarding pass for inspection and then he was gone. Louis glared at the back of his head, feeling annoyed before following suit and lumbered towards the gangway. 

”Well, well, well...” Louis uttered when he found Harry sitting in the seat next to him, unsurprisingly. He had already organised his luggage; the tiny suitcase in the overhead compartment and his small purse (it definitely was a purse) was sitting on his lap. Louis had his phone in his pocket so he shoved his backpack in the compartment too. 

”Well, hello Louis,” Harry chirped when Louis crashed on his seat and fastened his seatbelt with a click. ”You’re seated next to me after all!.”

”Yeah, right,” Louis muttered. Okay, he needed to get over his gust of jealousy over that guy in the terminal. Just then, Louis saw him stepping into the cabin and found his seat just in front of them. Awesome. 

”I can switch seats with him if you want to,” Louis stated sourly after Harry had greeted him with a nod and a smile.

”Why would I want you to do that?” Harry tilted his head askingly. ”I’m perfectly happy here with you.”

”I—”

”Can I have a glass of Champagne for him, and I could have an orange juice, please,” Harry interrupted him when the flight attendant asked for their pre-flight drinks.

”I’m capable of ordering my own drinks, thank you very much,” Louis scowled at the curly-haired man after their drinks had been placed on the small table between their seats and the flight attendant had begun serving other passengers.

”I know you are. I just love to do that. Maybe this way you’d forgive me?”

”Forgive you for what, exactly?”

”Whatever it was I did to offend you,” Harry smiled. ”It was never my intention and I’m deeply sorry if I did that.”

”Okay,” Louis grunted. 

”Does that mean we’re good again?”

”Guess so,” Louis shrugged and took a sip from his bubbly. If his fingers not-so-accidentally brushed Harry’s when he put the glass back on the table, no one needed to know. 

They fell silent. To distract himself from the lull, Louis took a copy of American Way from the pocket of the seat in front of him and flipped through it. Next to him, Harry eyed the back cover of his brand new book and looked seemingly pleased with his purchase. The flight attendant collected their empty glasses, and soon another of the flight attendants was doing her welcome-aboard announcement. Louis gulped down the lump in his throat as security videos began to roll and flight attendants were getting ready to signal the location of the emergency exits.

”You alright?” Harry turned to look at Louis after the final cabin checks had been made and they were taxiing to the runway. 

”Couldn’t be better,” Louis gritted between his teeth, gripping the armrests with white knuckles. So far, he had been able to stave off the nerve-wracking feeling he always felt during take-off. But when the engines began to roar and the plane took off full speed down the runway, Louis closed his eyes and tried to breathe as normally as possible. The plane twitched and a tiny muffled sound escaped Louis’ lips. 

Just then, a large warm hand covered his own smaller one and squeezed it encouragingly. It was a small gesture but at that moment Louis could have kissed Harry from the secure feeling it immediately created. But as soon as the aircraft ascended in the air smoothly, Louis quickly pulled his hand away. 

”Thanks,” he mumbled, both grateful and embarrassed because of his behaviour. 

”Are you feeling better now?” Harry inquired, worry crossing his face. 

”Yeah. Sorry about that,” Louis replied, face flushed. 

”There’s nothing to be sorry for or shamed about with the fear of flying,” Harry said in a soft tone in an effort to make Louis feel better. But it just made it worse.

”I’m just going to—” Louis jumped up and rushed to the lavatory, seat belt sign be damned. He locked the door and when the lights switched on, he sat on the closed toilet seat; elbows pressing onto his knees, face resting against his palms. 

He hated this feeling. He wasn’t scared of flying, it was just the take-offs that sometimes caused him anxiety. He hated that Harry had to witness his weakness, what would he think of him? Before Louis had pressed his eyes shut, he had looked so relaxed; enjoying the feeling even. And then there was him, who created in his mind all the possible scenarios that could go wrong. 

Louis forced himself up and splashed some cold water on his face. He patted it dry with paper towels and afterwards ensured there weren't any pieces of paper stuck onto his beard. That’s all he needed after everything that just happened. Feeling almost normal again, Louis unlatched the lock on the right and pushed the door open. The guy Harry had talked to earlier at the terminal was waiting in the aisle for the lavatory to be vacant again. Louis gave him an awkward smile and sneaked past him into his own seat. 

Harry gave a thoughtful look but didn’t say anything. Instead, he nodded towards two bowls of warmed nuts placed on the table. “I’m sorry if I crossed the line by ordering you another glass of champagne. You seemed to enjoy it earlier and I— umm… thought you might want something to help you relax,” Harry rambled biting the cuticle on his index finger. 

“Champagne’s always a good choice, love,” Louis endorsed. Perhaps, he had preferred a beer, or a shot of tequila instead, but reminded himself ‘Never bite the hand that feeds you’. Harry wasn’t using his money for Louis now, but that didn’t mean he wouldn't do it later if he played his cards the right way. 

“Yes, it is,” Harry smiled at him back.

“Why are you settling on the water then?” Louis crossed his legs and turned his body towards Harry as much as it was possible to do so comfortably. 

“I have a rental car waiting for me at the airport. I thought I might have a glass of wine with my lunch but otherwise, I’ll stick to non-alcoholic drinks for the time being,” Harry explained.

“Oh, a car!” Louis exclaimed delighted and picked salted cashew from the bowl. “What kind of car?”

“Umm— A convertible?” Harry hesitated and followed Louis' suit by plucking up a few nuts and popping them in his mouth.

“What kind of convertible?” Louis inquired curiously. He could already picture himself in the passenger seat, cruising along Ocean Drive, the wind in his hair. 

“I’m not quite su—” 

“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” the flight attendant cut Harry off and placed their food in front of them. Louis sighed and gave up, he could bring up the topic later. If not before, then at the airport. He was almost positive Harry could give him a ride if he just asked. 

Instead, they fell into a light chatter about the food. Turned out their culinary preferences were practically opposite, except they both had a sweet tooth. Perhaps that’s why the only food that earned mutual praise from both of them was the chocolate layer cake they had for dessert. 

”Do you mind if I read for a while?” Harry asked him after their lunch, patting his brand new book.

”No, of course, not. You don’t have to ask my permission,” Louis assured between his teeth. 

Damn, he cursed inwardly. He was supposed to be the cat in this game, and now Louis had a feeling their roles had somehow reversed. Louis wasn’t going to stand for that. It didn’t matter if they both might have the same goal but this was Louis’ game, and his rules too. 

Louis pulled out his phone and was about to open Instagram when he remembered there was no wifi on this flight. Or there might be, but it most likely costs more than he usually paid for a month, so he could survive without it. He had been meaning to organise his photos for ages but never had time for it, perhaps now would be a perfect time.

It wasn’t until he reached his pics from last summer, that a light bulb in his head went off. He twisted himself in the seat so Harry had an unobstructed view of his screen. He had almost forgotten these pictures even existed, but now he realised they had been waiting for this exact moment. 

Louis clicked the first one open and made a satisfied hum. These pics were bloody amazing if he did say so himself. Memories from last year's trip to Jamaica came flooding back to his mind. He saw himself spread out on an enormous white bed, skin glowing in shades of bronze. Thanks to a private villa, his tan was also without lines. There was a shuffle next to him and from the reflection, on his screen, Louis saw Harry had dropped the book on his lap. 

Louis quickly ensured the passengers behind them couldn't see him and then he touched the screen and zoomed in. He still could remember how his travel partner had taken those photos while they were having sex. Louis was in them very naked, and hmm… very eager, as well.

There was no doubt that Harry liked his pics. He was pressing the book tightly against his crotch as Louis swiped between the shots. Harry took sips from his water until he managed to turn his gaze away by shutting his eyes. 

“Could you, please, put those away?” Harry asked in a hoarse voice. 

“You looked at my private photos?” Louis tried to sound horrified.

“It wasn’t that hard to see them when you practically shoved them in my face like that.” 

“And, as you could tell, it was _very_ hard.” Louis turned his head to meet Harry dead on and arched his eyebrow. “But they still are _private_ photos.”

“Maybe next time don’t open them inside an aircraft full of passengers then!” Harry yell-whispered. Louis ignored his attempts to see his phone and put it down.

“Did you like them?” Louis asked in a seductive tone, propping his elbow against the armrest, chin resting against his fingers.

“I’m not going to answer that,” Harry informed, lips pressed in a hard line. 

“I don’t think you have to,” Louis smirked nodding slightly towards his telltale bulge and watched as Harry reddened from his neck to his forehead in a flash. 

”Please, I beg you to put that phone away,” Harry pleaded with a suffering expression plastered on his face. 

“Aah, I like begging…” 

“Please…” Harry whined.

”Hmm… What do I get in return if I promise to do that?” Louis asked lightly, touching the other man’s arm. If possible, Harry looked even more uncomfortable. His chest was heaving rapidly, lips partly opened.

”Name your price,” Harry breathed out.

”My price…?” Louis pretended to be offended. ”What do you think I am?” he continued with a playful tone, winking. 

”Oh no, no! I didn’t mean your price,” Harry explained awkwardly. ”More like what can I give you if you stop teasing me?”

”So, I can just ask for anything I want?” Louis double-checked, raising his brows.

”Yes,” Harry promised, adding ”Within reason, Louis.”

”Give me a ride to South Beach when we get off this plane,” Louis decided after a beat of silence, nodding.

”That’s it?” Harry asked, sounding surprised. ”A ride...?”

”Yeah, a ride,” Louis smirked. ”I’m not a golddigger.” 

_Or stupid enough to appear as one, in the beginning_ , Louis added inwardly. 

*

”That’s mine!” Harry announced, plucking a suitcase from the carousel. It was Gucci, of course — the beige and ivory pattern was easy to recognise, even for Louis. It wasn’t as cute as the Mickey Mouse carry-on bag Harry was toting in his hand, but without a doubt just as valuable. “Did you already find yours?”

“I have mine,” Louis said, pointing to his backpack with his thumb.

“That’s it?” Harry sounded astonished. “Nothing else?”

“We all don’t have a _fortune_ with us when we travel,” Louis replied with a smirk, satisfied with his own wit. What a pity, Harry didn’t seem to notice his clever jab. “I need very little. Besides, there are excellent shopping opportunities in Miami,” Louis hinted, following Harry out of the baggage claim hall.

“That’s true,” Harry admitted, nodding. “Hmm, it’s weird—” 

“What is?” Louis frowned.

“My luggage feels heavier than when I packed it yesterday,” Harry wondered aloud, weighing his suitcase in his hand.

“Are you saying elves, or some other woodland creatures, somehow added stuff into your luggage?” Louis mocked him in jest. “Did you leave it unattended before you checked it?” 

“Not that I can recall. And, I’m leaning towards the elf option…” Harry muttered to himself.

“What was that?”

“Hmm— Nothing, sorry,” Harry glanced one more time towards his ever-expanding suitcase, his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly into a displeased grimace. He gave a frustrated sigh, closing his eyes briefly before turning towards Louis again, smiling.

Louis didn’t know what to say to the perplexed man, so he just followed him to the moving walkways taking them to the MIA Mover Station rolling his eyes. Out of sight, of course.

Despite his heavy luggage, Harry kept striding through the airport rapidly with his long legs, Louis skittering after to keep up with his pace. Something in Harry’s essence, perhaps a corner of his mouth that thinly curved upwards, told Louis he might be doing this all on purpose. He just couldn’t understand why; all he had done was tease him a little bit. If Harry couldn’t take it, maybe his sense of humour wasn’t as carefree as Louis had assumed. 

Or, Harry found _this_ funny.

Louis was leaning towards the latter when they arrived at the MIA Mover, with beads of sweat atop their foreheads. From the pocket of his purse (how many bags did this man need?), he dug out a package of rose water refresher towels and offered Louis one.

“No, thanks,” he hissed, using his bare hand to sweep off the sweat from his forehead. 

With exaggerated gestures, Harry picked one. He let out tiny moans as he wiped his face with it, just to irritate Louis. Thank god, the shuttle train arrived before Louis had time to say anything. He gave Harry a tight-lipped smile and climbed in. While inside, the bastard shoved the package back into his bag, smiling. 

With his arms crossed against his chest, Louis stared down at the floor. Perhaps it was the Gucci pattern of the suitcase that reminded him of his mission, and during the brief ride to the rental car center, he pushed his grievances to the background. He definitely wasn’t going to stay with his mate when there was a chance, Louis hoped, for a night or two in a fancy hotel with this stunner.

The train slid into the station and Harry rushed out, alongside the other passengers, with Louis following in tow. He bumped against Harry’s back when he made an abrupt stop in the middle of an enormous hall they had entered.

“Shit,” Louis cursed, grabbing on Harry’s upper body for support, feeling the tight body through the fabric of his suit. His fingers rested there a few moments longer than needed, Harry’s muscles vibrating under his touch. Firm and— 

Harry cleared his throat, waking Louis from his daydream. With a lingering move, he pulled his hand away. He couldn’t help a satisfied smile from spreading across his face when he saw Harry Adam’s apple make a visible bob as he gulped, while Louis’ hand slowly slid off from his waist.

Good, Louis thought smugly, I’m back on track. 

Louis looked around noticing they were surrounded by rental car kiosks. Harry searched around with his gaze, clutching a piece of paper in his hand. “I don’t know which company,” he muttered, a deep frown on his forehead. “I can’t find the name here.”

”Lemme see,” Louis snatched the document from Harry before thinking. Again. 

“Umph,” Harry sounded when the thin paper slid through his fingers. 

“Uh, sorry,” Louis winced an apology. “A bad habit,” he added, biting his lower lip, hoping Harry wouldn’t consider him too rude. It was his second nature to interfere with everything when he was with his friends but he needed to control himself from doing it with Harry, a virtual stranger. Fortunately, he didn’t seem too bothered and Louis sighed in relief, taking a better look at the sheet. “Okay, Harold, let’s find your car!”

“My name is Harry,” the taller man immediately protested.

“Why is your reservation for Harold Styles, then?” Louis asked, amused.

“It’s not!” Harry insisted, ripping the paper from Louis. “What the hell…” he mumbled, pursing his lips.

“Here,” Louis couldn’t resist the temptation and pointed to the name with his digit. “Mr. Harold Styles. From Brooklyn, New York,” Louis said, moving the tip of the index finger along with the text while reading. “Are you saying you’re not this person?” Louis questioned, tilting his head.

“I am, but still not Harold,” Harry repeated, crinkling his nose and glaring at the paper.

“But why did you use it then? I don’t get it,” Louis asked, furrowing. Something didn’t add up. Just like with the suitcase. 

“I asked a friend who works in the corporate office for a rental company to make the reservation on my behalf, guess they wrote the name incorrectly,” Harry explained, short curls shaking as he spoke.

“They must have assumed it was your actual name” Louis suggested, spreading his hands on the sides. “I assume many Harolds use Harry as a nickname.”

“They _knew_ ,” Harry retorted, jaw clenching as he spoke.

“All right, all right,” Louis replied, raising his hands. Guess Harry didn’t like to be called Harold. Interesting...

“Let’s get your car, _Harold_ ,” Louis grinned, pushing Harry towards the correct counter and ignoring his scowl.

A little tease harmed no one, right?

*

“It’s pink,” Harry stared at the 1956 Cadillac, tilting his head side to side in the parking garage after the clerk had led Harry to his car. 

Calling the convertible ‘pink’, was clearly an understatement. Cherry blossoms were pink, just like flamingos. Or maybe baby clothes. But this vehicle wasn’t anywhere near that shade of pink. It was a hot and vibrant bubblegum pink, almost bordering on a shade of fuchsia. The leather seats were creme white and comfortable to sit on, Louis noticed when he hopped in. 

“This is so cool!” Louis exclaimed, leaning back in the passenger seat, lacing his fingers together against the back of his neck. 

“Mmm,” Harry let out a suffocated sound, and walked behind the car and lifted his bags into the boot.

“You don’t like it?” Louis hoisted himself up a bit, turning his head around towards Harry, who slammed the boot shut.

“I do...” Harry declared an unreadable expression on his face. He cautiously brushed the shiny surface of the car with the top of his fingers while walking to the driver’s door, before quickly pulling them back like they were burning from the touch. “1956 Cadillac Coupe Deville… I just—“

Louis waited for him to continue but that never happened. “What’s wrong, Harry?” he asked when the pause had lasted what felt like an eternity and the other man just kept staring at the car, scrunching his nose a couple of times.

“Oh, nothing,” Harry flashed a tiny smile and pulled the door open. 

“Nothing…?” Louis turned on his seat, brow arching for a question. 

“Nah, it’s just me being a bit daft,” Harry swiped his hand in the air with a belittling gesture.

“Okay, then,” Louis muttered, twisting his head forward again. He had no reason to feel confused by Harry’s reply but he still did. Perhaps Harry sensed the change in Louis’ mood when he began to speak again once seated behind the wheel.

“Maybe I’m just feeling a bit overwhelmed,” he said, stroking the contoured steering wheel with his index finger. 

“Why...?” Louis asked, after sensing Harry wanted him to follow up with the question aloud.

“I have a picture of me in one from when I visited Graceland with my family when I was ten. I said that when I grew up I was going to get one,” Harry spoke dreamily, turning on the engine and listening to its soft roar. “I didn’t think my— umm, friend would have rented me _this_ car. I just asked for something sporty and classic.” 

Something in Harry’s fond tone made Louis’ stomach knot in an unusual way. He swallowed the feeling and stated while smiling, “Sounds like an amazing person.” 

“He is,” Harry beamed. “The best.”

“Okay, Elvis,” Louis shouted, slapping his hands on his knees when the situation started to get slightly awkward; from Louis’ side anyway. Harry still looked shocked by his new rental toy. “Show me how this beast works!”

Harry clicked his seat belt and waited until Louis did the same. He tapped the address in Google Maps and pushed the start button. The voice immediately guided him to turn left. “Hold on, babe!” Harry grinned, and carefully pushed the accelerator. 

The first couple of miles out of the airport were slow going. Louis operated as a co-captain while Harry tried to navigate his way out from the rental car center and then to the route leading to South Beach. When Harry merged into the traffic on the Dolphin Expressway, Louis was finally able to relax and enjoy the ride. 

“You’re visiting someone here, yeah?” Harry recalled when they had been driving for a few minutes in silence, just enjoying the scenery. “I think you mentioned it earlier?”

“Yeah, Niall,” Louis replied, leaning back in his seat and lifting his feet onto the dashboard. From the corner of his eye, he saw the other man’s disapproving look. Ignoring it smoothly, he carried on with his story. “He lives in South Beach. We used to go to school together in England.”

“Niall…?” Harry asked, tasting the name. “Sounds Irish.”

“Yeah, he is Irish,” Louis confirmed.

“Umm…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Louis turned to look at the older man.

“How did this Niall end up in South Beach?” Harry questioned, giving a wary glance at Louis, narrowing his eyes.

“ _This_ Niall…?” Louis arched his brow, imitating being offended on behalf of his friend. “What’s wrong with that, _Harold_? Because he is Irish, he can’t live there?” Louis aimed his narrowed eyes to Harry.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” Harry hurried to say. “I’m only curious to know how an Irish guy you went to school with — apparently in Yorkshire judging by your accent,” Harry paused, emphasising his last sentence before continuing, “Ended up here in Miami? Especially in South Beach of all places, at such a young age?”

“He has family here,” Louis announced, slightly annoyed. “Any more questions, detective…?” Quickly he remembered who he was with and gave Harry a blinding smile instead.

“Of course,” Harry assured, holding back a smile. “I didn’t mean to doubt you, or your friend Niall. I apologise if I did.”

“Yeah,” Louis grunted, nodding his head a little. “It’s all right,” he added in a calmer tone, a hand seeking a cigarette pack from his pocket. He picked one out and placed it between his lips. He lifted his shirt to use as a shield because the wind made it impossible otherwise. After the third attempt, he finally succeeded and eagerly sucked a long satisfying drag from it.

“What are you doing?” Harry asked in a strained voice, eyes cold.

Louis blew the smoke out, turning his head lazily towards Harry, and replied “Having a fag.”

“You can’t,” Harry protested.

“Says who?” Enjoying the feeling, Louis leaned back on his seat, taking another, even longer drag.

“I do,” Harry replied, sounding disgruntled. “It’s impolite to smoke inside the car, anyway.” 

“Because the smoke gets trapped inside the convertible?” Louis asked in a sarcastic tone, giving him a questioning look. 

“Umm…”

“Would you even have noticed I smoked if you didn’t see it happening?” Louis rolled his eyes.

“I would,” Harry said firmly. “And you could have asked before if you can smoke in my car.”

“Your _rental_ car,” Louis reminded him.

“More the reason, Louis,” Harry replied.

“Okay, okay,” Louis raised his hands in the air, admitting his mistake. “This won’t happen again. Sorry.” One more drag and he was about to kill the butt on the outside of the door. 

“No, put it in there,” Harry pointed to an almost empty water bottle when he saw Louis was about to cause property damage and likely envisioned the charge he would get on his credit card. 

“Thanks,” Louis muttered, feeling a bit ashamed. Quickly he dropped the filter into the bottle, closed the cap, and placed it on the floor mat, and focused on Harry again. “So, Harold. What do you do for a living?”

”I watch the paint dry.”

”Umm— I beg your pardon?” Louis slowly turned his gaze towards Harry to see if he was joking. 

He must have sensed Louis’ stare because he simply grinned and repeated ”I watch paint dry.”

Louis stared at him in disbelief, so Harry carried on. “I’m in paint manufacturing, it’s my own company, actually,” Harry modestly admitted. “I swipe it onto a swatch and monitor how quickly the paint dries. Using a stopwatch, of course. It’s what makes our brand a best seller amongst designers and contractors.” Harry added, grinning. 

”Are you fucking with me?” 

”Not now, but— ” Harry slipped, and then immediately blushed turning his head the other way. “I mean— umm…”

“But maybe later,” Louis accomplished his sentence, winking.

Harry didn’t say anything, just licked his lips once before focusing on the road again before he drove them both in the ditch.

_That was fast_ , Louis thought smugly. They weren’t even at the hotel yet and Louis already felt he had caught a swordfish. 

Mission almost accomplished.

*

The GPS prompted them with directions more frequently as the Cadillac approached South Beach. When it announced their destination was on the right, Harry turned into a driveway in front of the hotel Marlin. No less than five seconds later, a young guy working as a valet approached them and asked in a curt tone if they were hotel guests. After Harry confirmed, his attitude immediately softened, and became more polite. Louis was about to say a few choice words but Harry just climbed out of the car, smiled at him, and dropped the car keys into his palm. 

“Is your luggage in the trunk, sir?” the valet asked, and after receiving an affirmative answer, he promised they would be delivered into the lobby shortly, along with the car keys. 

“Thank you,” Harry nodded courteously.

Louis waited on the walkway with his backpack secured on one shoulder, rolling on his feet from toes to heels and back, hiding his sudden uncertainty about what to do next. He wasn’t about to give up and leave Harry this soon, but he needed to gather his thoughts for a few moments. 

“Thanks for the ride,” Louis chose the simplest phrase and continued with an even bigger cliche, “Have a good time in Miami.”

“Oh, you’re leaving,” Harry sounded disappointed and Louis had to quickly abort his satisfied grin. 

“Yeah, Niall. Remember?” Louis replied nonchalantly, stretching his arms towards the sky in a cat-like stretch. He dropped them suddenly, tiptoed to give Harry a tiny peck on the cheek thanking him one more time, and sprinted away without looking back. Only when he was around the corner did he stop and carefully peek to see if Harry was still there.

To Louis’ relief, he was. He was standing in the same spot, hand still resting on his cheek where Louis’ lips had grazed his skin. He peered around searching for something, or perhaps _someone_ , but after a minute he gave up and sauntered inside the hotel.

Louis waited a few seconds to be sure Harry was inside before lazily walking back to the hotel. He had plenty of time to text Niall, and Louis is never on time for anything so what's a few more hours? 

Patio tables filled the area between the pavement and hotel entrance. From behind a pillar, Louis craned his neck in an attempt to locate Harry. Just when he poked his head around to get a better look inside, the valet approached Harry and appeared to have said something that caught his attention. Harry spun around and just as fast, Louis dove behind the pillar. 

”Shit,” he cursed aloud, gaining a disapproving look from the parents of the family walking by. Louis bet their pre-teen kids have heard much worse than the one he just let slip from his mouth. Perhaps he should feel embarrassed for being a terrible role model for the little blossoms but more than anything he just felt amused at the parent's hypocrisy. It was just ridiculous, Louis thought when the family disappeared out of his sight. 

No one paid him any attention until the valet stepped to the street. Of course, the first thing he saw was Louis squating on the pavement. The guy gave Louis a weird look but discreetly kept his thoughts to himself.

Perhaps he realised Louis was trying to peek between the plant pots placed on the fence in front of the column and therefore stopped and turned around to say “Your… friend is in the lobby, sir.” He nodded towards the hotel, adding “If you were looking for him.”

“Umm,” Louis muttered as he kneeled down on the pavement to pretend to tie his shoelaces in an attempt to look less embarrassed. “Thanks.” It was only then that he remembered he was wearing his slip-on Vans.

The guy shrugged and walked away. He had likely seen weirder things, but Louis couldn't help the tiny blush from rising on his face. If he had been smarter and thought about this a bit more, he could have walked around the block, or waited somewhere else, instead of eagerly rushing after Harry and making himself look desperate. 

Whatever, he pushed the unpleasant thought away. They weren’t the people he cared about — Harry was — and now that the coast was finally clear it was time to make his next move. He wiped off the grit from his ripped jeans and with purpose he walked inside. 

No one paid him any attention, apart from tiny nods from the hotel staff when he confidently made his way in the direction he hoped the restrooms were located. 

His intuition was right, and Louis locked himself in one of the stalls. He opened his sad little backpack, pulling out a pair of tiny white shorts. He peeled off his jeans, letting out a relieved sigh when his skin was finally able to breathe again. Travelling from a wintery New York to a year-round warm Miami wasn’t easy when it came to choosing ideal clothing for the plane.

Louis wished he had had a chance to use the shower but instead he had to settle for wiping the sweat off with a dampened paper towel. Obviously, it wasn’t as luxurious as a shower in the hotel but it was better than nothing. He changed into a fresh pink t-shirt, applied deodorant under his arms, and spread lotion onto his legs making them glisten. He slipped on his pure white Vans and stuffed his worn clothes into his backpack. It would be stupid not to use the toilet now, so he did that too. After washing his hands he styled his hair in a messy style, placed a pair of Ray-Ban Aviators on the bridge of his nose and he was ready to go.

Louis returned from the loo feeling refreshed. He was happy to notice his outfit garnered glances from women— and even to his greater delight, from men too. Even though his shorts might be a little too short and the T-shirt slightly too cropped, the effect it made was the only thing Louis cared about now. 

Besides, his bum looked thicc in this outfit. 

It was almost a shame to sit down at a table on the patio and hide his treasure. Louis skimmed through the drink menu a handsome young waiter had brought him, eventually ordering a piña colada — no matter how tacky it sounded. He just wanted to have something tropical to get into the right feeling, to realise he really was in Miami.

While waiting for his drink to arrive, Louis crossed his legs and let the warmth of the sun caress his face. He repositioned his chair strategically in a line of sight so that anyone coming out of the hotel couldn't miss him. It was hot and humid outside but Louis enjoyed the weather. It was exactly what he needed in the middle of winter.

When his drink came, Louis thanked the server with a smile. Then leaned forward to pick up his drink, captured the paper straw between his lips, and sucked the cold liquid through it. This is good shit, Louis thought when the coconut, pineapple and rum blended perfectly on his taste buds. 

He had enough time to finish his drink and order another one before Harry appeared in the lobby. He looked around as he was looking for something, and when he saw Louis through the window his whole face lit up. He glided out to the patio and Louis had to use all his willpower to keep himself from bursting into laughter. 

There was nothing wrong with Harry, he looked as gorgeous as he had looked before — it was his clothes that made Louis want to cackle aloud. Louis scanned him from head to toe as he approached and without asking permission, Harry pulled the other chair back making room for himself to sit down.

“I think Sonny Crockett might miss his suit,” Louis couldn’t stop himself from saying. 

“What…?” Harry looked at him with confusion, his neatly waxed eyebrows furrowing slightly as he stared at Louis.

Louis didn’t reply, but the corner of his mouth twitched while he took a sip from his drink. 

“Oh, you mean this,” Harry finally realised, touching the glossy fabric on the lapel of his creme white blazer. 

“Looks very Miami,” Louis grinned. And hot, Louis readily admitted despite the massive Miami Vice vibes it gave off. Although, Harry's suit fit ten times better than any of the suits from a TV show. The shiny fabric looked expensive and the blazer fit Harry’s body like a glove. His high-waisted trousers were flowy and widely flared, the simple white tank top underneath added a sexy-casual element, exposing the pair of swallows tattooed on his chest. A silver crucifix hung on a long chain and the number of rings on Harry’s fingers had doubled since the last time he saw him. 

“I could say the same about you,“ Harry drawled, checking Louis out in return. Harry couldn’t tear his eyes from Louis’ legs. The pain of sugaring them before he left on holiday paid off in spades, and there definitely wasn’t any harm in the spray tan appointments he had too. It had made his winter-pale legs look golden and sun-kissed, and hopefully irresistible enough for Harry to wrap them around his shoulders.

The waiter interrupted their dalliant banter by asking if he was ready to order a drink. Without taking a look at the drink list, he asked for a mojito then turned to Louis to say, “And for him, anything he wants.”

“Anything...?” Louis raised his brows.

“Anything,” Harry repeated, smiling firmly.

“Hmm,” Louis smirked, bringing his index finger to his lip in contemplation before replying, “I’ll just have another piña colada, please.”

“A classic,” Harry hummed, leaning back on his seat and crossing his legs. He peered at Louis through his square-shaped sunglasses. The pink transparent lens didn’t hide the hungry gaze that licked up and down Louis’ bare legs. Louis smiled smugly — inwardly, of course — adding petrol to the flames by teasingly stroking the smooth skin of his outer thigh every now and then.

Louis knew how to play this game.

“I must admit, I’m a little surprised to see you here,” Harry said in a reflective tone after their drinks arrived. He stirred the contents in the glass with the green cocktail stir stick, making the ice clink when it hit the edges. “I thought you were going to see your friend,” Harry looked at Louis from behind the rim as he sipped his drink.

“I did,” Louis said quickly. “Erm, he wasn’t home.” Ok, so he hadn’t contacted Niall yet, there was plenty of time for that.

“That was fast,” Harry grinned. “He must live really close then.”

“I called him, he wasn't here,” Louis explained, cursing himself for not thinking this through enough. 

“You could have called him from the airport, or the car,” Harry added, smiling knowingly. 

“Well, I could have, but I didn't,” Louis retorted annoyed, more himself than Harry though. 

“So,” Harry continued in a patronising tone. “What are your plans now? You can’t sleep on the street.”

“I’m not going to sleep on the street,” Louis said firmly. “Nice hotel, by the way,” he added with a wink.

“Isn’t it!” Harry responded delightedly. “I love the art deco architecture they have here in Miami, and I wanted to stay in a hotel from that era.”

Harry continued to ramble about all the magnificent art deco buildings in South Beach. Louis nodded at him from time to time with a beaming smile but his main focus was how good they make the drinks at this bar. Harry should tip the bartender some extra for that.

“What do you say, Louis?” 

Harry’s question roused him from his thoughts. He had no idea what Harry was talking about, but perhaps it was just best to follow him and therefore he went with a “sounds lovely,” hoping it would be a suitable reply.

“Wonderful!” Harry smacked his hands together, sounding so excited that Louis started to fear the worst. 

“If you want, you could leave your backpack in my room. Then you won’t have to carry it around.” 

“Around where?” 

“Well, during the walking tour,” Harry told him like a child.

“Walking tour...?” 

“Yes,” Harry narrowed his eyes. “The one you just said you would love to come with me on…”

Shit, where had he just promised to go?

“Oh, yes! _That!_ Stupid me,” Louis winced, pushing aside the straw and taking a large gulp straight from the glass. Eating his words wasn’t an option but at least he could be tipsy while out on some boring tour.

“Hmm,” Harry said, staring at him. Louis was certain he could read his mind but didn’t say anything more. He waved for the server and asked him to charge all of their drinks to his room. It more than suited Louis. Perhaps it would help him survive the insipid walking tour. And maybe more.

“Can’t wait to go,” Louis replied, giving Harry a wide smile.

“Good, because the guide will begin in fifteen minutes,” Harry announced.

“Great,” Louis exclaimed, sounding more saccharine than ever.

“Meanwhile, finish your drink and I’ll take your bag to my room,” Harry suggested, even though his own drink was almost half full. “If you want me to, that is.”

“Yeah, sure,” Louis smiled, this time genuinely. He would be crazy if he said ‘no’ to Harry’s offer. This meant he had one foot already in, and a few more hours with Harry, he may have a place to sleep too.

“I’ll be right back,” Harry said, taking the backpack Louis handed to him and scurrying away.

Louis wouldn’t have minded having one more drink to survive what would surely be a banal tour where some old gray-haired man dressed in pastels would tell them the history of art deco architecture. 

Louis couldn’t have been more wrong. 

Minutes later they found themselves a short distance from the South Beach Clock Tower where Harry had agreed to meet his tour guide, and Louis immediately saw a handsome man, perhaps in his thirties, standing there. It was just his name tag that indicated he was the tour guide Harry had hired.

Harry also hadn’t expected the guide to be as young and good looking as he was. He swiftly recovered from his shock and politely introduced himself to, as the name stated, Mateo.

“And this is my— umm… Louis,” Harry stuttered.

“My Louis...?” Louis turned to Harry, grinning, after he had shaken his hand with Mateo first.

“I didn’t mean it to come out that way,” Harry blushed. “Sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Louis replied, smirking. 

Maybe it had been a slip from Harry, but during the tour, Louis came to notice he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t refrain from feeling jealous, Harry was behaving similarly too. Maybe Louis laid it on a bit too thick by glueing himself next to the tour guide, listening to him carefully, and giggling in the right places of his stories. Every time Louis’ laughter rang out in the air, Harry’s expression got gloomier and mardier. 

At the end of the tour Louis was sure that if looks could kill, Mateo would have been dead a long time ago. Somehow Harry gave one more smile when he thanked and tipped the guy before walking away. Louis wiggled his fingers to say goodbye and the vein on Harry’s temple throbbed furiously. Louis bit his lip in an effort to hide his smirk. Harry didn’t say anything for a moment, he just kept Louis tightly in his arm while they walked along the street. 

Finally, it was Harry who broke the silence. “I was hoping you would join me for dinner?”

“Hmm,” Louis pretended he had to think about his answer. After he had teased Harry enough, he smiled “I’d love to.”

A relieved smile spread on Harry’s face but soon it turned into a frown. He let Louis go and stepped back as he had just remembered something. “We must do something about your clothes,” Harry said, looking Louis over from top to bottom.

“What’s wrong with this outfit?” Louis twirled around like a ballerina.

“It’s a bit—“ Harry paused, biting his lower lip. 

“Yes…?” Louis propped his hand on his hip, curiously waiting for Harry’s reply. 

“Minimalist,” Harry blurted out.

“You mean slutty?” Louis said, fiddling the hem of his top. 

“No…” Harry denied, continuing “It might just be a bit— inappropriate for the restaurant I have made the reservation with.” 

“In other words, slaggy,” Louis chuckled.

“Your words, not mine,” Harry snapped. “Okay, let’s go then.”

“Where?” Louis frowned.

“To get you clothes, so you can get into the restaurant,” Harry sighed.

“I need to buy new clothes so you can take me to dinner?” Louis arched his brows. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.”

“I invited you, so obviously I’m the one who's paying for them too,” Harry said quickly.

“Oh, then—” Louis grinned and hurried after Harry. “This sounds very much like Pretty Woman, doesn’t it?”

“What—?”

“Pretty Woman, the movie,” Louis explained. “Isn’t it something your generation grew up watching? In the seventies or something,” Louis grinned.

“Nineties,” Harry hissed between his teeth. 

“Close enough,” Louis shrugged and sprinted after Harry who was striding quickly along the sidewalk — just like he had done at the airport. Age seemed to be a bit of a sore spot for Harry.

But it was still too hot outside to chase Harry around. Harry's jealous behaviour earlier had given Louis enough confidence to play hard. He stopped next to one of the parked cars and without haste, he lit a cigarette. Just then he slogged after Harry, smoking slowly. All the time he had kept an eye on Harry; where he went and how he was reacting. Currently, he was standing on the corner of the sidewalk, waiting for Louis and looking like a petulant child. 

Perhaps Louis shouldn’t enjoy this moment as much as he did and tried to swallow his mirth — with little success. “What’s up?” Louis asked, lifting his chin slightly. 

“Could you put that out?” Harry replied, scrunching his nose at the cigarette, ignoring Louis’ polite question completely. “And we are in a hurry if we want to get your new clothes before dinner.”

“I don’t think _we_ want the clothes,” Louis noted. “It’s you who’s judging my outfit.”

“Are we back to that again?” Harry sighed, rubbing his temples. 

“You tell me,” Louis shrugged.

“Are you declining my offer to buy you new clothes?”

“Well, no—”

“Good,” Harry responded sharply. “There’s a store just around the corner.”

Louis butted out his cigarette, dropped it in the designated disposal stand he saw, and followed Harry voluntarily. The older man was right, the store was really close, as less than a minute later they stood in front of the entrance staring at the red ‘H&M’ sign.

“Edward let Vivian shop on Rodeo Drive,” Louis turned up his nose to the inexpensive clothing shop. 

“You envy fictional hookers?” Harry laughed.

“No, I don’t,” Louis argued. “But still, _Rodeo Drive_ ,” Louis muttered to himself.

“Well, first off, we are not in Los Angeles,” Harry added dryly. 

“I’m pretty sure South Beach has other stores than this. Even GAP would have been better...”

“Sure, they do,” Harry admitted, “They just aren’t here and we’re still in a hurry. Remember?”

“How could I forget when I get reminded about it every five bloody seconds…” Louis mumbled.

“Shall we go inside, or not?”

Louis shrugged but stepped inside. “At least we won’t be turned away from here…”

Harry gave him an inquisitive look. “For a representative of _your_ generation, you seem to know a lot about the movie.”

“I have been forced to watch that film so often that I probably know the lines by heart,” Louis said.

“Who’s forced you to do that?” Harry asked curiously.

“Just someone in my family who’s nuts for rom-coms—”

“I love rom coms!” Harry shouted thrilled. 

“Of course you do,” Louis sighed, sounding defeated. “What else is....”

“You don’t like them?” Harry sounded horrified. “At all?” 

“They’re not all bad, but they definitely wouldn’t be my first choice for a movie night.”

“What would be your choice then?” Harry asked immediately.

“Well, like—” Shit. Every film that came up to his mind was a rom-com. He had insidiously been brainwashed over the years and he hadn’t realised until now. “Die Hard,” Louis blurted the first non-romantic film he remembered.

“Die Hard…?” Harry lifted his brows. 

“Bruce Willis, you know, the action movie.” 

“And quite an old one too, may I add. Are you really twenty-two?”

“Of course, I am,” Louis retorted, narrowing his eyes and turning his back to Harry in protest of Harry’s insolence.

Harry laughed, leading them towards the men's department. He picked up a few items from off the racks, dropped them in Louis’ arms, and pushed him into one of the dressing rooms. He then proceeded to ask every ten seconds if Louis was ready and if he could have a look.

“Yeah, yeah,” Louis nodded, looking at his reflection from the mirror. “It’s perfect— if I was going to go golfing with my fellow retirement home residents. Jesus Christ, a cardigan? In this weather? Seriously, Harold?”

“It can get chilly during the night,” Harry defended himself.

“Sure, it can,” Louis admitted dryly before continuing, “But tonight doesn’t seem to be one of those nights.”

“But it looks nice,” Harry said, taking back the tan cardigan Louis just pulled off.

“Maybe we should just agree to disagree on this,” Louis replied.

“Sorry, I was trying to help…” Harry muttered offended.

“I appreciate the effort, really,” Louis said sheepishly. “But would you mind if I quickly look around by myself? Maybe I’ll find something.”

“As long as it is something that’s suitable for a five-star restaurant,” Harry reminded him.

Louis circled around, seeing a few potential outfits that could work. But every time his gaze landed back on Harry, and especially the suit he was wearing. Louis hated suits. Or more accurately, he hated to wear a suit. But somehow his eyes found the rack where a row of blazers was hung. He walked over to them and flipped through the collection; immediately rejecting the black and white options. He hesitated between the others for a few seconds but ended up selecting a dark gray jacket and scooping up a black dress shirt on his way to his fitting room. 

A slim-fit blazer and cropped suit pants fit him flawlessly. Pleased with what he saw, he parted the thick curtain and called out for Harry. 

“So, what do you think?” Louis asked, suddenly feeling oddly shy. He just wanted Harry to like this look on him.

“You look amazing,” Harry beamed, much to Louis’ relief. 

“So do you,” slipped out from Louis’ lips, making Harry blush.

“Umm— yeah,” Harry stumbled with his words, “I think we should go.”

“Okay, I’ll just take this off—” Louis said. 

“No!”

“No...?” Louis furrowed. 

“Where are you going to redress if you take it off now?”

“Hmm, good point, but I don’t know if I’m allowed to just—” 

“I’ll take care of it. Go get your clothes, and meet me at the cashier,” Harry demanded.

“Yes, Daddy,” Louis responded before his brain-to-mouth filter had time to activate.

The apples of Harry’s cheeks went from a soft pink blush to a deep rose, and he almost missed the tiny dart of his tongue as it swiped across his bottom lip — _this_ , Louis found all the more interesting. 

Harry turned around sharply and made a beeline to the cashier. Louis glanced at him before disappearing into the fitting room a few moments later and noticed Harry was biting his lower lip looking pensive.

Louis must admit, Harry wasn’t the only one affected by the provocative slip, it conjured up particular scenarios in his own head. He had never really given serious thought to the whole ‘daddy thing’ inside the bedroom, but right now, it felt like an intriguing idea. 

When Louis met Harry at the checkout counter, the moment had gone but it definitely planted a seed in his mind. Harry ushered Louis to follow him out to the street, and with determined steps, led Louis in the direction of the restaurant. If Louis had felt clammy wearing the shorts, he was boiling with this suit on. 

Less is more, had been Louis’ motto when it came to his appearance but seeing the look in Harry’s eyes as he appraised him in his suit caused him to realise that perhaps it didn’t always work that way. 

“We could have taken the car,” Louis whined when they were running — okay, it felt like that — along Collins Avenue towards the south end. 

“It’s not that far,” Harry said, “And besides, I’d like to have some wine with my dinner without worrying if I’m able to drive back to the hotel or not.”

“Fair enough,” Louis admitted. Seeing Harry tipsy was actually something Louis wanted to see. Despite Harry seems to have a sense of humour — one similar to Louis’ — he also had been a bit reserved so far. Maybe a suitable amount of alcohol would help him relax and forget about whatever he was worried about. Louis just hoped he wouldn’t discover any bigger skeletons emerging from his closet. Although, if he avoided asking loaded questions he wouldn’t find anything untoward either. Harry seemed to have a fat wallet and an interest in Louis, perhaps that should be enough information to play with.

The restaurant Harry had made a reservation for was rather upscale, which became very clear the moment they stepped into the intimate dining room. It was almost full and without a reservation there would have been no chance of them getting in. The hostess greeted them with a warm smile when Harry said his name and every other member of personnel acknowledged them in one way or another as she led them to their table. 

The table linens were snow white and therefore way too formal for Louis’ taste. This wasn’t his first time at a fine dining restaurant, but if he had it his way, he wouldn’t be here. He has always been more into McDonald’s for something quick or to a franchised establishment like Nando’s or TGIFridays here in the US. The very places he wouldn’t have to be worried all the time that he’d spill something on the table cloth like a clumsy child. 

“May I start you off with sparkling water?” she asked before filling their glasses only after they accepted. “Here are the menus, please take your time with them, your server will be here shortly to take your drink orders and give pairing recommendations. Enjoy your evening, gentleman.”

They thanked her with smiles before sinking into the menu.

If the venue itself wasn’t appealing, neither was the menu. He was a man with the simple taste — someone might even call him picky — the last thing he needed was fancy French dishes whose names didn’t divulge the ingredients. Harry, however, looked like he was born to be here. He looked at his surroundings and smiled widely, before bringing his attention back to the menu once again. Perhaps, that was a wake-up call for Louis. Even though he wasn’t a fan of this restaurant, Harry surely was. If Louis was going to let his own thoughts guide him, he would ruin this experience for Harry too. 

“Good evening, gentleman,” a handsome young man greeted them, interrupting Louis’ thoughts. “My name is Shawn and I’m your server tonight. If there’s anything you need tonight, please don’t hesitate to ask. Could I bring you something to drink while you’re perusing the menu? Maybe Champagne?”

“What do you think, a glass of bubbly, Louis?” Harry turned to ask.

“Sure, why not,” Louis replied, shrugging slightly. 

“Two flutes of Champagne?” Shawn double-checked. 

“Yes, please,” Harry confirmed the order.

“I’ll be right back with your Champagne.” He made notes on the iPad, nodded briefly with a terse smile before walking away.

”There are too many options,” Harry complained after a while.

”Really...?” Louis asked before he had time to stifle the word. “Err—”

”You don’t like the options?” Harry observed Louis’s expression, worry frowning his forehead. 

”I—” Louis paused, thinking it would be rude to say he wasn't keen on it. Even though Harry looked pleased, Louis decided to go with the truth. ”I just don’t really eat this kind of food,” Louis admitted, staring pointedly at the word escargot on the menu. Who the fuck would eat snails voluntarily?

”Oh,” Harry said, looking confused. ”Do you want to go somewhere else then?” Harry asked, sounding disappointed.

”Oh, no!” Louis hurried to say. ”I’m sure I’ll find something. Perhaps it’s just the names that are confusing me.” 

”Okay,” Harry beamed, and Louis knew he had made the right choice with his reply. ”Let me know if you need help with the menu.”

”I think I’ll survive, Harold,” Louis muttered. He wouldn’t lower himself by begging for Harry’s help with translating a fucking menu. Just after thinking that, Louis realised he might have employed the wrong tactic. If he was in a restaurant like this, why not choose the best they had to offer, and the best must mean the most expensive, right? 

Lobster tail and filet mignon, he couldn't go wrong with that. Not that he had ever tried lobster — the seafood wasn’t his thing either, but maybe it's time time to try new experiences. He wasn’t paying for it, after all.

Shawn arrived back at their table with their drinks and took their food order. ”Gentlemen, would you like wine with your starter and main dishes?” Shawn asked after he had punched in their orders. ”We have an excellent wine list. Our sommelier has pairings for every dish.”

”I would be up for trying that,” Harry nodded, turning towards Louis. ”How about you, Louis?”

”Umm— Yeah, sure. Why not,” Louis decided, feeling the pressure from two sets of eyes, boring into him. A cold beer had been what he really wanted, but maybe it wasn’t something people drank in these places. 

”And both for you as well, sir?” 

”Huh…?” Louis realised the server was talking to him.

”Will you be having both varieties of wine; white with the starter and red with the main, I mean. Sir.”

”Why not,” Louis shrugged.

”Or if you’d prefer a beer or a soft drink with your meal, we have a wide selection of them too,” The server continued, as though he could read Louis’ mind.

”Yes!” Louis breathed out way too fast making the serve grin. “A Belgian wheat beer would be great, thanks.” Shawn tapped his order into the iPad and disappeared into the crowd.

”Sorry,” Harry apologized when it was just the two of them again. 

”For what?” Louis wondered.

”For practically forcing you to have wine when you clearly didn’t want to.”

”I never said I didn’t want to,” Louis corrected him. “Look, all the champagne and the drinks I had earlier, I know I’ll get a headache from the wine. I felt it would be better to have something else instead. Even though it might be sacrilegious in a French restaurant, I’m afraid.”

”I should have known,” Harry pouted, crossing his arms on his chest and leaned back on his seat.

”How were you to know, Harry?” Louis breathed, as he leaned back in his chair.

“I just should have, is all.” Harry snapped his mouth shut and sipped from his champagne flute.

”Okay, then. What an excellent answer,” Louis rolled his eyes, wondering silently which one of them was supposed to be older here. He had acknowledged Louis’ age but now, he definitely wasn’t behaving like a grown-up. 

Louis pulled out his phone and scrolled through his Instagram timeline. Harry was still pouting from the other side of the table and Louis couldn’t resist temptation and take a sneaky picture of him. He quickly added it to his story with the capture ”Look what I found!” 

Harry saw his tiny smirk but didn’t say anything, even though Louis knew he was dying to ask. Louis let him sulk and focused on his phone instead, sipping his bubbly every now and then. 

“What…?” Louis asked, shoving his phone back into his pocket when the weight of Harry’s eyes had been on him for longer than he had liked.

“Nothing,” Harry hummed but did nothing to drag his gaze away. “Just looking at you.”

Louis huffed, adding sarcastically: “Wouldn’t have realised that without your detailed explanation.”

“You look beautiful,” Harry said softly and for a few moments, Louis had no words.

“Umm, I— thanks,” he eventually breathed out, blushing. It was embarrassing how a simple compliment from Harry made Louis melt inside, and lose his ability to communicate like a normal person. He could have kissed Shawn who right at that moment approached their table and placed their starters in front of them, then poured their drinks into their respective glasses.

“Bon appetit,” Harry wished before lifting his fork from the table. His eyes were still soft, just like his voice. Louis echoed the same phrase and turned his bewildered gaze towards the lobster placed in front of him.

“Mmm, magnifique,” Harry marvelled after taking the first bite of food from his plate while Louis was busy summoning up the courage to try his own. 

“What did you get?” Louis raised his head. He had totally missed Harry’s order when he had been agonizing over what he would order for himself.

“The snails,” Harry garbled out after he had swallowed.

“What?!?” Louis stared at him, eyes wide. “You didn’t…?”

“I sure did,” Harry laughed, picking one from the shell and moving it towards Louis. “Want to try one?”

“Eww, no!” Louis cried out, wincing in disgust when Harry popped it in his own mouth instead. 

“I think you’d be surprised if you tried it,” Harry said, smiling.

“I bet I would,” Louis huffed. “I just doubt it would be a pleasant surprise…”

“It’s buttery and garlicky,” Harry described.

“And snaily,” Louis added.

“You can barely taste the snail.”

“What’s the point then?” Louis asked, tilting his head. “You could just have garlic butter with toast or summat,” 

“How is your lobster?” Harry countered gracefully, ignoring Louis’ suggestion, and placing his tiny fork onto the tablecloth.

Hesitantly, Louis picked up the cutlery and proceeded to flake off a tiny portion of lobster, dipping it in butter and tentatively placing it on his tongue. He chewed a few times and swallowed it down, decidedly unsure if he liked it or not.

“So…?” Harry inquired curiously.

Louis flaked off another piece of the lobster tail with his cutlery and dipped it in more butter before placing it in his mouth, the same routine as with the first one before replying, “Well,” he thought aloud. “It doesn’t taste as fishy and oceany as I thought it would…”

“You like it!” Harry sounded delighted.

“Like is a pretty heavy word to use here, Harold, but no, it’s not that bad after all,” Louis chose his words carefully.

“Woo!” Harry cheered, raising his fist in the air.

“Why does this excite you so much?”

Harry shrugged, “Maybe I just want you to enjoy this moment too.”

“I do,” Louis rested his cutlery against the plate, looking Harry directly in the eyes. “Thank you. For bringing me here.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Harry smiled coyly, eyes glistening in the dim candlelight.

Louis didn’t have to lie. Despite his minor food crisis, the time in the restaurant had been lovely. As the evening wore on, it became more pleasant. After the dessert, Louis really felt he had been on a date with a charming and kind man. 

After Harry had paid their bill and guided him out of the restaurant with his hand placed on Louis’ lower back, he remembered he still had a mission to accomplish. 

”Let’s have another drink,” Harry suggested while they were walking away from the restaurant. 

”Just one?” Louis grinned, giving Harry a mischievous look.

”I think we have to settle on just one for tonight. I’m knackered and can’t wait to get in bed,” Harry confessed, trying to stifle his yawn.

Louis swallowed the spiky comment about tired old men but instead zeroed in on something Harry said. ”Tonight…?” Louis arched his brow, continuing in a ponderous tone. ”Does this mean I might be offered drinks later then? Like tomorrow...?”

”Mmm— maybe…?” Harry hesitated. ”If you want to?”

Inwardly Louis wanted to kneel on the ground, punching his fist into the air like a hockey player, and cheer as though he had just scored the winning goal. Obviously, he didn’t let any of that show on his face when he turned to look at Harry again. ”Yeah, I’d like that,” Louis broke out in a smile, acting demure and proper. Like he wasn’t plotting his next move in his mind: how to get into Harry’s pants. 

“Good, good,” Harry nodded, seemingly pleased. He glanced at Louis briefly, but then his smile morphed into a worrisome frown. “Did you get a hold of Niall? Do you have a place to sleep?” Harry asked, halting in place and aiming his inquisitive eyes at Louis.

“I texted him but I haven’t heard back. This isn’t the first time I’ve come here to discover he’s found some model to ghost me for. I know where he hides the key so I can always get an Uber and—” Louis shrugged with a blank expression even though the excitement was already beginning to build up in his insides. 

“Unless—” 

“Unless what?” Louis rushed impatiently when Harry paused in the middle of a sentence, leaving Louis hanging with whatever he was going to say. It was fucking annoying! 

“Umm— I was just… Hmm, like— thinking,” Harry stumbled with his words.

All Louis wanted to do was to yell at him to spit it out at once. He nibbled the inside of his lower lip between his teeth to prevent him from saying something stupid to Harry. Instead, he gave the other man a semi-forced smile, hoping it would encourage Harry to continue. “Yes…?”

“You can always say no—” Harry started, and then stopped again.

_Jesusfuckingchrist!_

Louis was going to scream any second now if Harry didn’t get the words out before his next breath. There wasn’t anything more irritating than a person who couldn’t get a simple sentence out of their mouth. “I know I can, if I only knew the question,” Louis hissed between his teeth.

“It’s a bit forward—” 

“I think I can handle it,” Louis assured him.

“I have never asked this before—” 

“Just ask the question, Harry!” Louis shouted out, adding a contrite smile after, hoping he didn’t scare Harry altogether.

“You could sleep in my room,” Harry said and Louis made a silent cheer. Again. “For free, of course. I know you probably have made a lot of plans for your weekend but if you are interested in spending some time with me as well while you’re here, I would really enjoy that. I will obviously cover all your expenses. You don’t have to worry about it. I just realised during dinner how much nicer it would be here if I had someone to accompany me. I think it would have felt weird to eat in that restaurant alone,” Harry rambled everything out in one messy blob of word vomit.

“If I spend time with you, you would cover all my expenses?” Louis repeated.

“Umm— Yes…?” Harry blushed, biting his lip and looking as though he might bolt away; he was pale from obvious nerves. “But you can say no!”

“Does your deal include any other ‘services’?” Louis propped his hands on his hips and stared Harry straight into his eyes, making him blush again.

“Nonono,” Harry exclaimed quickly. 

“No?” Louis arched his brow. “Should I feel offended?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean it that way. You’re really hot—” Harry paused, gulping. “But it’s totally up to you. I’m not buying sex from you.”

“Damn,” Louis grinned. “I was already thinking maybe I was living Pretty Woman after all.”

“Are you saying you’re disappointed that I’m not offering to buy sex?” Harry stared at him incredulously. 

“It would have made my sugar baby fantasy come to life.”

“Your what—?”

“Sugar baby,” Louis repeated slowly, smirking. 

“I—” 

“Are you seriously telling me you didn’t think your offer had anything to do with sugar dating?” 

“I can’t see myself as a sugar daddy,” Harry winced, as he ran his hands back and forth through his curls.

“Your offer was straight from the sugar dating handbook, Harry. ‘I can offer you everything you want,’ he said seductively before commenting, “I’m not even going to mention your suit,” Louis added.

“What’s wrong with my suit?” Harry pouted, looking down at his outfit.

“Nothing,” Louis said. “It just screams ‘I’m rich’ and having a younger lover on the crook of your arm completes the image that I have in mind about sugar daddies.” Louis looked at Harry and added boldly, “But they don’t usually look as hot as you do.” 

A genuine smile spread on Harry’s face. “Does that mean you want to do this?”

“Why not?” Louis shrugged coolly like it hadn’t been his mission since he spotted him at JFK. 

“Cool, now can I buy you that drink?”

*

“Nice one!” Louis shouted when they entered Harry’s hotel room after sticking to the ‘just one drink each’ rule. It was a spacious corner room with a king-size bed centred along the wall, and a cozy looking sofa placed at one end of the windows. Louis ran over and jumped on it, bounced on it twice before jumping down and whipping open the curtains, watching the traffic pass by. Fortunately, the noise from the street didn’t seem to reach up to the room. 

Harry took a big bottle of water from the table and mimed the action, asking if Louis wanted one too. After nodding his head to the gesture, he threw another to Louis. Harry kicked off his shoes, crashing on the bed.

“Tired?” Louis asked, after twisting off the cap and gulping down half the bottle of water.

“Exhausted,” Harry sighed, closing his eyes. “Do you mind if I take a quick shower and head to bed afterwards?”

“Of course not.”

“I’ll be fresher tomorrow,” Harry promised, pushing himself up. He undressed until he was wearing only a tiny pair of tight, white boxers. Louis concentrated on the bottle in his hand to prevent himself from leering at Harry. 

“Do you mind if I take a shower too?”

“With me?” Harry asked, turning to look at Louis.

“Or, in general.”

“Oh,” Harry replied and Louis wasn’t sure if that was the sound of disappointment or not. In the doorway, Harry turned and gave one more look at Louis, before disappearing in the bathroom.

He didn’t close the door, though. Could that be interpreted as an open invitation to join him? Louis walked over and listened as the water from the shower began to rain down. He paced across the room a few times, frantically thinking of what he should do when a muffled moan interrupted his thoughts. 

Was Harry jerking off in the shower? 

Louis stepped closer to the doorway to listen — and yes, that definitely was a moan — louder and definitive this time. Louis didn’t hesitate any longer. He stripped out of his clothes, throwing them on the sofa, and hurried to the bathroom door. He pushed the door open and stepped in to discover he hadn't misinterpreted what Harry was doing. Harry was leaning against the wall of the shower enclosure— big and hard — making every ounce of blood in Louis’ body rush straight to his dick. It had been far too long since the last time. 

“Any room in there for me, big boy?” Louis smirked as he stepped inside and into the steam that emanated from the shower.

“Ungh, fuck, get in here now,” Harry moaned as he reached out for Louis’ hand and pulled him farther inside and against his hip.

“You all hot and bothered, love? How ever did that happen?” Louis coyly asked, trailing a finger from his own nipple down to cup his balls, before giving them a firm squeeze.

“You did this to me. With those shorts earlier. I’ve had to think of England for the last six hours and thinking of this moment kept me from coming in my trousers like a bloody teenager. And now here you are, still teasing me,” Harry lamented.

“I’m not teasing love, I’m offering,” Louis grabbed at his cock and rubbed it against Harry’s cockhead.

Harry lunged forward and seared his lips with Louis' and wasted no time shoving his tongue in Louis’ mouth and sucking on his bottom lip. As though that wasn’t enough, he let go of his own cock and grabbed Louis around his hips, and began to grind into him, never breaking free from the smaller man’s lips. He thrust forward a few times before reaching down and engulfing his long fingers around both of their cocks. He began stroking slowly for a few pumps before going full throttle and jacking them off as deftly as he could. Louis’ head began to spin, not from the alcohol but from going zero to sixty in three seconds flat. No one has ever jacked him off this fervently and his head was swimming in ecstasy. 

It wasn’t long before he began to whimper and moan into Harry’s mouth and returned the bites and sucks to Harry’s lips. Harry squeezed the heads of the cocks with just the right pressure that Louis came with a shout and Harry followed him, slowly pumping his hand until Louis hissed from sensitivity.

They crashed their foreheads together and stayed under the spray of the showerhead until their breaths evened out and the blood returned to the rest of their bodies.

“That was nice,” Harry cooed.

“Nice? Harold, that was raunchy and bold, and exactly what I wanted. You read my mind, love,” he confessed and kissed the tip of Harry’s nose before exiting the shower and traipsing naked into the bed and getting under the covers.

“Louis! You’re getting the sheets all wet!”

**Day 2, Saturday**

Despite the air conditioner, the thick duvet felt too hot as Louis began to awaken the next morning; sweaty but surprisingly rested. With eyes still closed, he stretched his arms up in the air before dropping them back to his hips. He yawned widely and snuggled his head deeper into the pillow. That was his first clue that something was off — this overly soft pillow wasn’t the same one that had molded perfectly around Louis’ head. And the more he thought about it, the bed itself didn’t feel familiar either. 

Louis opened his eyes abruptly and felt the anxiety course through his body.

The first thing he saw was a mess of curly hair a few inches away from his mouth. After a few moments, heavy puffs of air morphed into a full-fledged snore. 

_Holy shit_ , Louis thought when he found his bearings and remembered he was currently in Miami, more precisely sharing a hotel room — and a bed — with Harry. Had he been asked this time yesterday if he thought he would end up in bed with the guy he had bumped into at the airport, Louis would have said “Only in my dreams, mate!’. Although, it was a good reminder that he’s still got it and the proof was laying next to him, and very naked. 

Louis closed his eyes again but his mind, and body, became restless. He tapped his fingers against the duvet as his mind began to race. He didn’t know if it was the unfamiliar room or the situation altogether that made him react this way. Usually, he didn’t have any trouble sleeping in if given the chance, but today it just didn’t seem to want to happen. The slight headache throbbing in his temples wasn’t helping the process either; a hangover, even a slight one, was always a pain in the arse. 

With a sigh, he pushed himself up and padded to the bathroom. If he was home, he would have popped an Advil, but of course, he didn’t have any on hand right now. He gulped down half a bottle of water, hoping to God it would help. He had his morning constitutional and brushed his teeth, and still, Harry hadn’t shown any signs of waking up. Louis let him sleep and scrolled his phone for a while. He replied to a couple of messages and skimmed through his social media only to discover his timelines were completely dead. His stomach grumbled loudly and reminded Louis about breakfast. 

He grabbed the hotel amenities guide from the desk and flipped through the pages for any mention of breakfast options. Just a few pages later he got his confirmation that offered a breakfast buffet, but not for much longer. There was a selection of coffee and teas on the desk next to the kettle, so if he could grab them something to eat from downstairs, they could have breakfast in the room. 

He quickly dressed, took the extra key card from the desk, and made his way to the door. His hand was gripped on the handle when he made a u-turn to the bed and whispered to Harry that he was going to get them something to eat. He likely didn’t hear a thing, but Louis felt better this way than just sneaking out of the room and saying nothing. 

Louis walked through the darkly designed hallway, then descended the stairs to the main floor. The hotel was modest in size, and the restaurant where breakfast was being served was easy to find. There were still a few people eating, but the staff had already begun clearing plates from the empty tables and would soon be collecting the remainder of uneaten breakfast items. Louis weighed his options before approaching the buffet table. He could go and get whatever he wanted without saying anything, or act as civilized people do.

He smiled politely to a woman who clearly worked in the hotel. “Excuse me,” he turned to her, asking with a small, apologetic voice. It was beginning to look like he was going to stay in this hotel for more than one night so perhaps this was the best way to deal with the situation.

“Yes?”

“My, hmm— husband isn’t feeling so well right now. I was wondering if I could take him something to eat in the room? Please?” Louis quickly made up a plausible explanation. 

“Our policy is that food from the buffet is to be eaten in the dining room,” she began, looking around. “But I suppose we could make an exception. Wait here, I’ll get you a paper bag.”

“Oh cheers, you’re the best !” Louis thanked her as he dug into his pockets. Fortunately, he found a couple of crinkled bills he could slip to her before she disappeared back into the kitchen. Once alone, Louis scanned through the selection and chose a mixed assortment of pastries and a variety of fruit that looked like they would survive the journey back to the room. 

_Oh, fuck off and mind your own business_ , Louis inwardly snapped when he saw the eyes of a few patrons aimed at him with disdain. He couldn’t help but raise his voice a bit when he passed them and said aloud: ”I hope my sick husband is able to keep this down.” The embarrassment that washed over their faces was enough for Louis to smile smugly. He didn’t feel guilty for his little white lies, they had paid for this anyway. 

Or, Harry had. 

Speak of the devil; when Louis returned to their room, Harry was sat on the bed leaning against a pile of soft pillows. ”I thought you had left,” he yawned, stretching his sleep-stiff upper limbs in the air. 

”Why would I have left?” Louis wondered.

”I don’t know, maybe you got tired of me already,” Harry shrugged, glancing at Louis with one eye closed.

”As if,” Louis huffed. ”Went to get us some breakfast before they closed the buffet,” Louis tossed the paper bag on the bed. Of course, the stupid apple was too heavy for that and all the contents of the bag spread across the bed. ”Oops…”

For a second, Harry stared at the squashed croissants, rubbed his eyes to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating, then started to giggle brightly. ”It’s been a while since I got breakfast in bed.”

”You’re welcome,” Louis grinned, before pointing down, ”That mess wasn’t my intention, sorry.” 

”Don’t be, I’ll tip extra for the housekeeping,” Harry promised, picking a piece of fruit up from the mattress and offering it to Louis asking ”Banana…?”

”No, thanks,” Louis shook his head, amused. It was hard to try to keep his face straight when Harry chuckled in front of him, pinching the fruit between his fingers. ”Tea or coffee?” 

”Coffee, please,” Harry replied, swinging himself out of the bed. ”I’m just…” he pointed to the bathroom with his thumb, ”I’ll be right back.”

”Yeah, I’ll make coffee.”

*

”So, any plans for today?” Louis asked when they had finished their breakfast in bed. 

”Beach…?”

”Are you asking me?”

”Well, kind of,” Harry shrugged.

”Shouldn’t that be up to you to decide, Mr. Gere?” Louis turned to look at him.

”Why…?” Harry wondered.

”Because I’m just a paid escort, remember?”

”Oh,” Harry sounded, blushing. ”I don’t know the rules. This is the first time I’ve done anything like this.”

”Are you already regretting it?” Louis tentatively asked.

”Uuh, no…?” Eyes widened, Harry spun his head towards Louis, asking ”Are you?”

”Is something giving you that impression?”

”No.”

”Then everything is good. I have no regrets,” Louis said firmly.

”Good.”

”So…?” Louis finally demanded an answer, when Harry remained quiet for way too long. 

”We’ll go to the beach,” Harry decided.

”Excellent choice,” Louis praised, starting to dig his backpack. ”Shitshitshit, I can’t believe this,” he cursed. 

”What…?”

”I think I—, I don’t have my swimming tru—” Something soft flew against his face, cutting off his sentence. ”—nks with me. How did you know?”

”Lucky guess,” Harry huffed when Louis kept staring at him with round eyes. ”And I have an extra pair.”

”Turtles,” Louis turned up his nose, rolling out the bundle of fabric in front of him. 

”Cute, aren’t they,” Harry beamed. ”Just bought them.”

”Don’t you dare tell me you have similar ones—” 

”Ta-daa!” Harry pulled out the same turtle printed swimming shorts, in a different colour though — as if it would change anything.

”Do you know how ridiculous this is gonna look? We are like one of those old couples who are matchy-matchy all the time,” Louis preached, staring at the garment like it was his nemesis.

Harry swiped his hand in the air, ignoring his rant. ”I want you to wear them.”

”No.”

”Are you refusing now?” Harry glanced quizzically towards him.

”What if I am?” Louis boldly countered.

”What happened to ‘Letting Mr. Gere decide’?” Harry asked, amused.

”It was before I found out about these…” Louis muttered. 

”I’m going to the beach with my turtle shorts. You can wait here, or come along. Your choice,” Harry told him.

Louis scowled him, irritated. ”Fine,” he eventually gave in and stood up. 

”Good boy,” Harry praised him in a low tone, turning Louis’ brain inside out. He was sure Harry had noticed it but didn’t say anything, just observed him closely.

It wasn’t just the tone, it was the words that made him feel the odd excitement, Louis realised while he was changing into his borrowed swimwear. He hadn’t even been aware he might be into that kind of thing but now it was all he could think about.

_Would Harry be willing to explore that?_ , he wondered. As quickly as the thought had appeared into his mind, he pushed it away. Now wasn’t the right time for that, besides, they barely knew each other. He pulled the T-shirt on, slipped on the flip-flops, and was ready to go bury Harry up to his neck in the sand.

Of course, it didn’t go that easily. He had just somehow got used to the idea of matching swimming shorts, but of course, Harry had to take everything to the next level.

”What the fuck is that?” Louis grimaced when Harry tossed a transparent plastic pouch onto the bed. 

”My beach pouch,” Harry said proudly. 

”Your what—?” Louis cried out. ”Are you seriously going to wear that? On a public beach?”

”Why wouldn’t I?”

”It’s hideous,” Louis stated.

”But practical,” Harry replied. 

”If you say so,” Louis rolled his eyes watching Harry shove his credit card, a wad of bills, and his iPhone into the bag before closing it tightly. 

”I do,” Harry said, grabbing the beach towel basket the hotel provided. ”Let’s go!”

*

Much to his chagrin, Louis had to admit Harry had been right with his pouch. No matter how ugly it was, it was a must if they wanted to frolic in the ocean together. His phone was waterproof but holding it in his hand all time took away part of the joy while in the water. Despite having to tolerate Harry’s smugness, he also had to beg Harry to let him put his own phone in the pouch too. 

”So, are you finally admitting you were wrong,” Harry asked, while they were standing in the water. 

”I haven’t changed my mind about how it looks,” Louis evaded his question, waiting for the next wave to catch. 

”So are you admitting you want one too?” Harry peered at him through his sunnies.

”Definitely, not!” 

”I can buy you one,” he promised willingly.

”No, thanks!” Louis winced. It’s one thing to be seen with Harry using the pouch, but never in a million years would he wear one of those hideous accessories. He had his limits, and this crossed them by a mile. 

”You can’t decline a present, Louis.” Harry laughed.

”Just watch me!” Louis shouted, and ran through another wave. 

Harry, and the pouch, following closely behind.

*

“How far is Key West?” Louis pondered aloud, laying on the sand. The weather was perfect, a slight breeze and the sun was warm on his face, but despite that, Louis felt a bit restless and bored. 

“I don’t know, maybe three to four hours from here,” Harry replied, raising his gaze from the book he was reading. “How come?”

“Just thinking…”

“You’d like to go there, would you?”

“Maybe,” Louis confessed, drawing figures in the sand. “You don’t?”

“Could be fun,” Harry admitted. “But it’s a long drive.”

“So…? You have a car.”

“I know but—“

“Don’t you want to have a little road trip with your pink Cadillac?” 

“It’s quite late already,” Harry reasoned. ”We’d have to drive back in the dark, and I don’t know if it’s worth it. We would just drive there and come back immediately.”

”We could stay there for the night.” Louis suggested. ”You’re not going back tomorrow, are you?

”No, on Monday.”

”Me too. So, technically speaking, it’s doable,” Louis goated, flicking grains of sand from off his fingers.

”In principle, yes—”

”Then it’s settled!” Louis turned to hug him with sandy hands.

”I didn’t say yes.”

”You didn’t say no either. Besides I have a feeling you want to go.”

”How do you know that?”

”Because you want to test out your convertible on all those causeways.”

”Hmm…”

”What’s the point of the car if you only use it to drive to and from the airport?”

”Okay, we can g—” 

Louis jumped on top of Harry, kissing him straight on the mouth. Just then he began to realize what he’d done and was a bit too forward. ”Erm, sorry…”

”What are you sorry for?” Harry asked, placing his hands on Louis’ hips and pulling him closer.

”The kissing, I don’t know if it was ok, out here in public and all,” Louis muttered.

”We kissed last night too,” Harry reminded him.

”Yeah, but it was a slightly different situation, you know. It would be weird to have your hand wrapped around my dick without kissing.”

”I like kissing, and you have the freedom to kiss me whenever you want to,” Harry promised, locking their lips and kissing him even longer. 

”I like kissing too,” Louis admitted after they smacked apart, licking his lips. He rolled back on his own towel, pulling his T-shirt on over his head. ”Maybe we should go soon?” he hinted to Harry when he didn’t make any motion to leave. 

”Sure.”

”I can’t wait to be behind the wheel, driving along the bridges,” Louis dreamed aloud.

”You can’t drive,” Harry said, shooking his head.

”Why not? I want to,” Louis pouted.

”Your name isn’t in the rental agreement, that’s why,” Harry explained.

”No one has to know,” Louis shrugged.

”If something happens, I would be liable.” 

”Maybe I’ll just have to rent my own car then,” Louis argued. 

”Or maybe we can add you as a driver too. I’ll make a call to them,” Harry promised. ”Although—”

”Yes…?”

”Most of the time the driver has to be over 25, or they will have extra charges,” Harry said.

”Is that a problem?”

”Probably not,” Harry grinned.

”Well,” Louis asked impatiently.

”Well what?”

”The call…?”

”I thought I could do it when we’re back in the hotel,” Harry began but hastily carried on: ”But of course, I can do it now as well.”

Louis gave him a wide smile and laid down on the towel again. 

”I’ll be right back,” Harry said.

*

It had gone smoother than either of them had expected. The representative from the rental company had promised to make amendments to the contract and would meet them back at the hotel so they both could sign off on the changes. After quick showers, they had packed — or more precisely Harry had, Louis only had his backpack — small overnight bags and had lunch before hopping into the car. Harry drove the first leg of the trip but when they had reached Key Largo, he finally let Louis drive. 

It felt wonderful. 

The scenery was breathtaking, the weather couldn’t be better and the company — well there were no complaints in that department. They chatted about movies and pop culture while The Beach Boys played in the background, as the car cruised along highway 1.

”You could slow down a bit,” Harry reminded him after they had been silent for a while, Louis had a permanent smile on his face, fully enjoying his position behind the wheel. 

”Huh…?”

”You’re driving a tad too fast,” Harry said, pointing at a speed limit sign with his index finger. 

”Not by that much,” Louis protested.

”Fifteen miles an hour over isn’t ’not by that much’,” Harry mimed Louis' tone.

”Alright, alright,” Louis said, easing off the gas pedal. ”Happy now?”

”Good boy,” Harry said in a husky tone.

The words hit Louis like a freight train. His Freudian slips had made him think about the daddy scenario and he thought he had come to the conclusion that he didn’t have any kind of daddy kink. But now he wasn’t so sure anymore. He would never have thought two innocent words could hitch his breath and make his mouth suddenly bone dry. 

He wasn’t sure if it was the actual words, or the tone Harry used that made his lower belly knot up with unexpected desire. Louis swallowed down the nervous feeling that was burning inside him, keeping his eyes strictly on the road. 

”Do you like that, Louis? When I call you a good boy?” Harry drawled.

”Wh— what…?” Louis stuttered, cheeks burning. 

”Do you think I haven’t noticed?” Harry drawled on.

”You— well you reacted to me accidentally calling you daddy too,” Louis defended himself. 

”I know,” Harry admitted, eyes boring into Louis. ”That’s why I’m actually asking…”

”You’re saying you’d like to try— BDSM, or whatever it is?” Louis asked in surprise.

”Maybe…”

”Okay…” Louis said slowly, staring at the road ahead.

”But we both have to be on the same page,” Harry said firmly.

”Naturally,” Louis gulped, nervously squeezing his knuckles around the wheel, watching briefly how they turned white.

”I assume you haven’t done anything submissive before,” Harry asked, biting his lip. It felt relieving that he seemed nervous too.

”No, not really,” Louis shook his head.

”What do you find intriguing about it?” Harry pressed on.

”Are we really having this conversation now?”

”We have time,” Harry replied, smiling. ”But if it feels too forward or awkward, we don’t have to.”

”Just give me a minute,” Louis asked. He had just realised he might be open to trying something different, and in the next minute, he was actually negotiating the idea with Harry. It all felt a bit overwhelming.

”As much as you need,” Harry said, adding softly, ”And if it feels uncomfortable, we can just bury the subject and forget it ever came up.”

”No!” Louis shouted without thinking.

”No?” 

”No,” Louis shook his head even more vigorously. ”Just need a little bit of time to gather my thoughts and wrap my head around this.”

”Okay,” Harry said easily, taking his phone out. He opened the camera app and began to snap scenic photos. Louis had to give Harry credit for leaving him alone. Not once did he glance towards him during that time, he stayed quiet with his own thoughts. 

”Do you want us to stop for a moment?” Louis asked, whose camera was aimed towards the setting sun. ”To take some sunset pics.”

”Yeah, if there’s a good spot, why not,” Harry said, sounding pleased with Louis’ suggestion. 

It didn’t take long before they spotted a wide enough strip where they could park the car for a while. There was one other couple taking pictures beside them, but it was no surprise they would encounter a throng of tourists on the side of the road at this time.

”Maybe we should walk over there,” Harry pointed to an empty area behind the trees. 

”Sure.”

They sat on the rocks near the water, staring off into the seemingly endless horizon. Perhaps the darkening sky finally gave Louis the courage he needed to speak up. It felt more intimate talking here than in the roaring car. Although, here he couldn't avoid looking at Harry like when he had been driving. 

”I like the effect your compliments have on me,” Louis began carefully. ”The commanding tone of your voice, too.”

”What would you like to be done? In bed, I mean,” Harry asked, getting straight to the point.

”Maybe I’d like to be told what to do, and physically dominated in some way. Nothing too extreme of course, because I haven’t done this before,” Louis explained his inexperience, hoping to find the right words to convey them.

”Could you give me some examples?” 

”Maybe how to act or what not to do,” Louis muttered. ”I know I can be quite a dominant person in real life, so to be in a totally different role kind of fascinates me to be honest,” Louis confessed coyly. 

”I know what you mean,” Harry said. 

”But it feels difficult to put those fantasies into words, you know. Especially when they are so new to me.” 

”If we try this, I think we should just go with the flow. But it is good to have an idea what the other one wants,” Harry pointed out.

”Of course.”

”You know this is also a trust issue,” Harry said, taking Louis’ hand and squeezing it lightly. ”Do you trust me enough, if we do this?”

”I do,” Louis replied without hesitation. 

Harry gave him a dimpled smile, kissed Louis on the mouth, and slapped him lightly on the arse, grinning, before he leaned in and whispered into his ear, ”You’ve been a very naughty boy this trip. I think you need a good spanking.”

*

”That pool was awesome,” Louis shouted when they arrived back to their room. Harry had made a reservation for this charming boutique hotel with a pool in the middle of the courtyard. The room itself wasn’t as posh as it had been in South Beach, but the location was near the main strip; so for a last-minute booking, it was a steal. ”And this isn’t bad either,” Louis said, after jumping on the king-size bed. ”Try it,” Louis added, patting the thick mattress next to him.

Harry stared at him for a moment before announcing he was going to take a shower. Wasn’t it obvious that Louis wanted him to join him on the bed? Louis was certain lust was visible in Harry’s eyes; why didn’t he pick up what he was putting down? Maybe Harry wanted him to follow him to the shower again, so they could continue where they left off the night before. Surely by this point, he could have said something instead of being mysterious. One thing was for sure; it made Louis extremely frustrated. 

Harry was so gorgeous, Louis wanted to cry. His body was beautiful; muscular and lithe at the same time, that’s without mentioning all the tattoos inked on his skin. Louis was a sucker for tattoos. Not five minutes ago he had the chance to trace Harry’s tattoos when banter and horseplay led to kissing passionately in the pool. They had been interrupted by a couple passing by the perimeter of the pool but Louis was positive he hadn’t imagined the bulge that bloomed in Harry’s swim shorts. 

And now Harry was singing in the shower as though nothing had happened. Did Louis already mention he was frustrated, and not just mentally? 

He marched into the shower after Harry had finished, his dick still throbbing from neglect. Yes, he could get himself off while washing but he wasn’t into it now. He wanted Harry inside him, and preferably soon. Like after his shower.

When Louis re-entered the room wearing only a white towel around his waist, ready to drop it on the floor, Harry had already dressed and was ready for their evening. He looked good in his yellow side-striped shorts and 70’ inspired flowery shirt, a pearl necklace completing the outfit, but he would have looked so much better wearing nothing at all. 

Naked. Nude. Bare. 

Louis already deeply regretted he hadn’t used his own hand to ease the growing situation under his towel. It would have been easier to admire Harry for the person he is if he wasn’t so fucking riled up. Still, there was a tiny voice in his head whispering that Harry was doing this deliberately. If that was the case, Harry wasn’t the only one who could play this game. 

With slow movements, he bent down to pick up his bag on the floor. Perhaps it was one careless move that caused his towel to drop, but Louis did nothing to lift it up, nor to cover himself either. He knew he got Harry’s entire attention now. The older man was sitting on a chair across the room, legs crossed, eyes strict on Louis. 

Louis picked out his white shorts from the previous day. One; because he really didn’t have many options, but mainly for reason number two; he looked great in them. This time Harry wouldn’t have any excuse to make him change. If he tried, Louis would point him to a mirror and ask him to take a look at his own attire. 

When Louis had pulled on his ‘didn’t come here to sleep - Key West’ t-shirt Harry had bought him earlier on, he swayed over to Harry. He placed his hands on the arms of his chair and leaned forwards so barely an inch separated their lips. 

“Do you like what you see?” Louis whispered.

Harry uncrossed his legs and pulled Louis closer, hands on his bum, so he was almost sitting on his lap. His minty breath felt hot on Louis’ and the tiniest move from one of them would have joined their lips. 

Then Louis didn’t know what happened. Harry hoisted himself up, Louis still in his arms, and next he was pressed between Harry’s chest and the wall. Louis’ hands raised into Harry’s curls, pulling him closer to deepen their kiss, legs wrapped around his waist. He felt Harry’s dick grinding against his own and jesusfuckingchrist it felt good. 

And then Harry let him go. 

He looked at Louis, smirking, and replaced his mouth with his index finger, tracing a line from Louis’ lips and ending at the waistband of his shorts. His touch was lingering and butterfly-soft but it made every cell in Louis’ body burst with desire. 

“Don’t be so needy, baby,” Harry whispered into Louis’ ear. “When I decided you need to be fucked, you’ll be gagging for it.”

And then he stepped away like nothing had happened. Louis wanted to scream. Perhaps he would have if his brain had cooperated, but he was in a fog from the last thirty seconds. He knew how to get rid of the feeling but that option, unfortunately, seemed to be out of the question. 

”Are you coming?” Harry asked, keeping the front door open for Louis. 

”In a minute,” Louis groaned, wincing painfully as he adjusted himself in his now-tighter shorts.

”Take your time, I’ll wait outside the room,” Harry, the bastard, dared to say with an obnoxious look on his face. 

”Unhappy thoughts, unhappy thoughts, think of your Nan,” Louis repeated at a rapid pace until the situation began to settle, he refused to give in to Harry’s torture. He adjusted himself again to make sure everything was more or less normal, then grabbed his phone and followed Harry outside. 

*

It was muggy outside, and Louis could taste the salty air on his tongue. The refreshing feeling of a cool shower was soon just a distant memory as they walked side by side towards Duval Street, Harry crooning a song Louis didn’t recognise. He looked seemingly happy when they turned the corner onto a perpendicular street, he took Louis’ hand and didn’t let go. 

Louis had to admit, it felt really natural. Strolling lazily along the bustling street holding Harry’s hand, made Louis feel warm and butterflies danced around his insides. This time for a totally different reason than just a few minutes ago inside.

“Your turn to decide,” Harry gently squeezed Louis’ hand. 

“Uuh, what—?”

“The place we're gonna have dinner,” Harry explained, swiping his free hand towards the bars and restaurants that lined both sides of the street.

“Can we keep walking and see what comes up ahead? I don’t know what they have here to offer.” Louis asked, slowing their pace even more. 

“Of course, we’re in no hurry anyway,” Harry assured, but couldn’t help point out some places they passed once in a while. Only the tiny scrunches in his nose revealed that he had wanted to say more but stuck to his promise to let Louis decide. 

Louis was about to give up because he didn’t see any restaurant that spoke to him at any level. Eventually, his eyes caught something that prompted him to make his decision immediately. “There!” Louis announced, satisfied with his choice. 

“Margaritaville...? Really?” Harry asked, staring at Louis as though he was bluffing.

“What’s wrong with Margaritaville?” Louis snarled, yanking his hand away from Harry's grip. 

“No, nothing. It’s just a bit—”

“Tacky...?”

“No. Forget that I said anything,” Harry said in a repentant tone. 

“You got your snails and shit yesterday, I want my nachos tonight!” Louis informed him, making a bee-line towards the entrance. Harry followed him a few paces behind, still not totally convinced. 

“Table for two, please,” Louis smiled at the hostess who greeted them at the door. 

“Follow me, please, we have a table on the Sunset Deck,” she said, leading them upstairs. She handled the menus with a promise to come back shortly.

“Quite noisy here,” Harry mentioned, eyes set on the menu.

“It’s Saturday night, Harold. People are here to relax and have fun. The music is loud so they talk louder as a result.” Louis explained. 

“They’re pretty drunk too,” Harry winced, looking around.

“Do you know the best way to tolerate drunk people?” Louis asked, before continuing. “To get yourself drunk too!” Louis grinned, replying to his own question. “I’m definitely gonna order a Margarita. They look awesome.”

“I don’t know if I should drink anything with tequila,” Harry hesitated, eyeing the drink list.

“I don’t think one margarita will kill you,” Louis told him.

“Okay,” Harry muttered to Louis, then turned to their server who just appeared next to their table and said, “Can we have one regular and one Watermelon Margarita, please.”

“Sure,” she smiled. “I’ll get your drinks and give you a few more minutes to look at the menu.”

“Watermelon?” Louis asked, arching his brow.

“Why not? Sounds delicious.”

“I’m not judging,” Louis threw his hands into the air, leaning his back against his chair and lacing his hands behind his head.

”Clearly not,” Harry huffed, but his tone was more amused than irritated, Louis noticed.

”Do you know what you're gonna have?”

”I’m leaning towards fish tacos, I guess,” Harry pondered aloud, clearly weighing with other options too. ”You?”

”Nachos, I already told you,” Louis reminded Harry, pushing his menu to the edge of the table.

”Oh, hmm. Yeah.”

”I’ll share with you,” Louis promised willingly. “If I must,” he added with a smirk.

“I’m good with my tacos, thank you very much,” Harry said, lowering his menu so it was standing on his lap.

“I will remember that later,” Louis muttered, leaning on the railing next to their table and peering downstairs. The dining area was so packed it was a small miracle they got a table so quickly. There were already a few people queueing at the door. But despite the busy Saturday night, the service was fast. Less than five minutes later their drinks were on the table and food orders were placed.

The service wasn't the only thing happening fast in the restaurant. Louis had hardly taken two sips from his drink before Harry had slurped down his altogether — and ordered another. 

“Ching-ching,” Harry raised his class, taking a large gulp from his second watermelon margarita. 

“Be careful,” Louis warned, tasting his own cocktail. “These are treacherously strong.”

“But this is so good, it tastes like pure juice,” Harry exclaimed, offering Louis his glass. “Try it!”

“What do you think?” Harry gushed, even though Louis’ lips had barely touched the rim of the glass, nor had he tasted it.

It was vibrant red, sweet and a tad tart but Louis had to admit that he prefered the regular margaritas over the flavoured varieties. “It’s alright,” he replied to Harry who was eagerly awaiting an answer.

“Alright…?” Harry sounded almost offended on behalf of his drink.

“There’s nothing wrong with the drink, it just didn’t jive with my tastebuds, that's all,” Louis explained, making Harry smile again. 

”Okay,” Harry agreed, bobbing his head with the rhythm of the background music blasting from huge speakers. Drink in hand, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes while he took everything in. 

Contrary to popular belief, Louis had no problems being quiet, without the need for making small talk. He sipped his drink, enjoying the atmosphere of Key West’s nightlife.

”Hey,” Harry shouted after a while, startling Louis and dragging him away from the bubble he had momentarily floated away on. ”D’ya know what we should do after we eat?”

”No, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me...”

”We should go dancing! And maybe sing karaoke!”

”Awesome,” Louis muttered. Neither of those suggestions was at the top of the list of what he wanted to experience tonight. Pool table, live music, and copious drinks — that was what Louis’ favorite bar nights were made of.

Before Harry had time to plead his case, the server brought their food to the table. By the time they had finished eating, Harry seemed to have fulfilled one of Louis’ desires — copious drinks. 

He hadn’t drunk that many of them but the speed in which he drank them had boosted the effects remarkably; just like Louis had feared earlier. 

”I want to go dancing,” a pleasantly tipsy Harry announced, taking a fully loaded tortilla chip from Louis’ nacho plate and shoving it into his mouth. 

Louis had hoped Harry had forgotten about his desire to go dancing, but worryingly, it looked like it was still very much on his mind. He could go to a bar, that wasn’t the problem. Harry was the problem. A pretty big one too, Louis thought, as Harry finished off the last of the nachos before nearly braining himself stumbling down the stairs to visit the restroom. 

Louis made a quick decision and asked the nearest server if they could pay downstairs. After she gave an affirmative answer, Louis emptied his drink and hurried downstairs before Harry had time to climb back up them again.

“Are we leaving?” Harry asked when he saw Louis was waiting for him outside the restroom.

“Yeah, I thought it was a good idea. We were finished anyway, right?” Louis queried, sighing in relief when Harry’s furrow morphed into an accepting nod. 

“Yayyy… We can go to the bar now,” Harry exclaimed cheerfully, raising his noodle arms into the air.

Okay, that plan surely wasn’t forgotten yet. “Just a little thing before we go,” Louis grabbed Harry from his arm when he was walking towards the exit. “You need to pay.”

“Oh, of course,” Harry replied, taking out his credit card and giving it to Louis. “Use this,” he said and walked out. 

Louis paid the bill like he was told, gave an extra tip to their server, and thanked them one more time. When he stepped out of the restaurant, Harry was nowhere to be seen. Louis walked further down the sidewalk to get a better look around but had no luck. When he turned around he saw a glimpse of a familiar figure through the gift shop window. Louis sighed and went back inside to retrieve his drunk companion.

“Louuu, look what I found,” Harry marvelled, pointing out a huge souvenir margarita glass. It was made from frosted glass; about ten inches high, colorfully decorated, and most of all — totally useless. 

“Sweet,” Louis grimaced. He despised knick-knacks like that from the bottom of his heart but he couldn’t say that to Harry. 

“I love it! I should buy it,” Harry decided next.

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea right now,” Louis tried to tell him.

”But it’s so prettyyyy,” Harry whined and cupped the glass in his hands, spinning it up-and-down. 

Louis hastily took it from him. ”What if we just put it back on the shelf, love.”

”I’m going to buy it!” Harry announced, taking the item back and holding it tightly against his chest.

”You just told me you wanted to go to the bar and now you’re planning to buy this giant glass?” Louis asked, rolling his eyes.

”Yup!”

”I really don’t think that's a wise thing to do if I’m honest.”

”Then don’t be.”

”Be what...?”

”Honest.”

”What the fuck are you talking about?” Louis sighed in frustration.

”I’m not sure…” Harry said thoughtfully, then bursting into giggles. 

”Look, we can come back tomorrow and get this fishbowl if you still want it then,” Louis tried to negotiate. 

”No!”

”No?”

”I want it now!” Harry announced, stomping towards the cashier.

”Fine,” Louis gave up. There was no point in arguing with Harry when he had that stubborn expression on his face. Louis realised if he was going to prolong this debate, he would be the one losing his mind and not white-girl-wasted Harry. “Whatever.”

Harry beamed when he placed the glass on the counter, asking politely “Can I have this, please.”

“It has to travel a bit so if you could wrap it up a little,” Louis mouthed to the shop assistant, making circles into the air to mimic packaging.

“Of course, we have bubble wrap we can use,” she replied, smiling.

“Maybe I should take two,” Harry pondered, leaping back to the shelf.

_Dear Lord, give me strength_ , Louis muttered and went to pull Harry back. “No, Harry. No.”

“Why not…?”

“What if we just take this one now, and if you still feel the same way in the morning, we’ll come back and get you another,” Louis bargained, gently ushering Harry back to the cashier and giving her Harry’s credit card. Louis sighed with relief when Harry unexpectedly cooperated and nodded in agreement. 

“Do you want something?” Harry suddenly asked when he was paying for his purchase. 

“Umm, no thanks, I’m good.” It took every ounce of restraint to hold back an eye-roll.

“Are you sure? They have all these beautiful things here,” Harry looked around, admiring.

“I’m sure they do.”

“You don’t even want a T-shirt? Or— Or a fridge magnet?” Harry picked up one from the rack, handing it to Louis.

“Here’s your bag,” the shop assistant interrupted, and Louis inwardly thanked her.

“Eeee,” Harry shrieked, snatching the plastic bag from the counter.

“Maybe I’ll just carry that.” Louis took the bag away from Harry after he had swung it in the air, knowing it was just a matter of time before the contents smashed to bits on the ground and Harry turned into a puddle of tequila tears.

“Okay,” Harry said happily, giving Louis the bag and reaching for his other hand to hold. 

“Now, you pick the bar,” Louis told him while they strolled back along Duval Street and Harry hadn’t shown interest in any bar yet.

”That one has a lot of rainbow flags!”

“It’s too bloody packed, Harry!” Louis sighed, viewing the place Harry had pointed to. 

“But they have the rainbow flags,” Harry pouted.

“Harry, this is Key West. This whole place is one huge rainbow flag,” Louis told him, continuing with a softer tone. “Maybe we could just choose one that isn’t so crowded.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you.”

They wandered around, it felt hours but in reality, it had hardly been more than ten minutes when Harry shrieked out, “That one!”

The white building was decked out in green trim, music blasting from the green doors out onto the street. As they walked closer, the first thing Louis saw was a pool table. 

“Yeah, s’alright,” Louis admitted, stepping inside. “Go sit there, I’ll get us drinks,” he continued, pushing Harry towards a vacant table near the doorway.

“Margarita for me, please,” Harry shouted after Louis.

“One Corona, a big bottle of water and one margarita,” Louis hesitated a bit with Harry’s order but he was a grown man, after all. If Louis didn’t bring it to him, he would do it himself. 

“Harry, love, please drink the water first,” Louis begged him. Perhaps the sweet drinks had made him thirsty, but he willingly emptied almost half a bottle on command. The water didn’t stop him from grabby-handing at his margarita but after two small sips, he pushed his glass aside announcing he wanted to dance.

“I want you to come with me,” Harry demanded, pulling Louis’ hand.

“Yeah, no, I don’t see that happening,” Louis laughed.

“Why?” Harry whined.

“Because I don’t dance.”

“Not even with me?” Harry pouted.

Louis shook his head saying, “But you can go. I’ll be here, or somewhere nearby. I won’t leave you, okay?”

“Okay,” Harry said happily, rushing to the area that looked to be a small dance floor. There was no one else dancing but it didn’t seem to bother Harry who began to move himself along with the music. Or at least he tried to. The poor guy seemed to love to dance but unfortunately, his skills didn’t meet his enthusiasm in any respect. But it didn’t stop him from doing it anyway and Louis had to hand it to Harry for giving zero fucks.

Though Louis hadn’t expected to be babysitting a trashed Harry this early in the night, the night turned out to be fun nonetheless. He chatted with a few locals, played a couple of rounds of pool, and just enjoyed his time in paradise. Harry seemed to be having a grand ole time as well.

Most of the time he was dancing, but it didn’t stop him from mingling with the other patrons either. He was talking and laughing with people — and the little touches he made during those conversations didn’t make Louis feel the pangs of jealousy he normally would have with a new conquest. He was totally cool with seeing Harry relaxed and seemingly in his element. 

Okay, he was _almost_ cool with it anyway. 

Not that he would have abandoned Louis, that wasn’t the case. Every now and then, he came to Louis and they talked a while, got drinks, or just enjoyed each other's company. Harry was even more handsy with Louis as with others, and it made him preen inside. 

But now Harry was dancing with someone else. Louis stared at them for a while, his eyes narrowed as he chewed his lower lip. Then he pushed himself up from the barstool he was perched on, tossed the remains of his drink down his throat, and sauntered over to Harry. He gave a semi-apologetic smile to the guy Harry was dancing with, then pushed him aside — without any remorse. 

”You’re a fucking nightmare on the dance floor,” Louis laughed at Harry after watching him a while. Harry looked like a drunken ramen noodle, hands up in the air as he swayed his hips from side to side. Earlier, his eyes had been shut but now he was staring straight at Louis, his lips parted and red from the cherry lollipop he must have cajoled from one of his new friends.

“I love to dance, Louiiiis,” Harry said again, with a dreaming voice. “I want to dance with you.”

Perhaps it was a moment of weakness, but Louis just nodded and let Harry pull him closer. He wrapped his arms around Louis' waist, resting his palms on his bum. Automatically Louis’ hands rose up, entwining his fingers behind Harry’s neck.

The rhythm of the song played much faster than their movements as they slowly swayed, pressed together. Louis arched his head backwards, Harry lowered down and captured Louis’ lips with his own. The kiss was warm, soft, and utterly breathtaking. Harry removed a hand from his arse and cupped Louis’ cheek, his thumb brushing his skin while he slid his tongue into Louis’ mouth.

The lust he painstakingly extinguished earlier in the hotel room burst into flames once again. Time and place had lost their meaning as they sunk into a kiss that froze time — it was just them and their thrumming hearts. Nothing else mattered at that moment.

”I want you,” Harry panted between the kisses, breath hot against Louis’ lips.

“Do you want to leave?” Louis asked, still breathless.

“Yes, please!” Harry groaned, pressing their lips together one more time. “I need to have a wee, and then we can go.”

“I’ll wait for you outside. And for the love of god Harry, hurry up,” Louis replied impatiently, digging his cigarettes out from his pocket. Louis knew Harry didn’t like him smoking but now he definitely needed one. He was almost at the exit when he remembered Harry’s souvenir glass was still behind the bar counter where Louis had put it on hold — with the permission of the bar staff.

Louis retrieved it quickly, dropping a couple of bills in the tip jar. Outside he finally lit his fag, and took a long, satisfying drag. Louis smoked it all but still no Harry in sight. Perhaps he had a similar problem in his pants as Louis, and it slowed down his functioning in the loo. It was after a second cigarette when Louis began to worry a bit. He picked up the parcel at his feet and headed towards the restrooms to look for Harry. He had barely taken two steps when Harry stumbled through the washroom exit, looking pale and sweaty.

“Harry, what’s wrong,” Louis shouted, rushing to him.

“I— I don’t feel well,” Harry mumbled, sounding miserable. 

“Did you throw up?”

Harry nodded, silently. 

“Wait here, I’ll get you some water,” Louis instructed, hurrying back inside.

Harry was leaning against the exterior wall when Louis returned with a bottle of water in hand. He twisted the cap open, passing the bottle swiftly to Harry. “Here. Try to drink a little.” 

“Thanks,” Harry muttered after a few gulps, giving the bottle back.

“Feeling any better?”

Harry just shrugged, pushing himself off the wall and trying to balance on his two tequila-soaked feet.

“Are you able to walk back to the hotel, or should we take a taxi?” Louis asked.

“Yeah, I think I can make it,” Harry said.

“It’s not that far. Maybe the fresh air makes you feel better,” Louis encouraged Harry while they ambled along the street, Louis supporting Harry.

Much to his surprise, Harry was able to reach the hotel with minimal assistance. Once they entered their room, it seemed all his energy had left his body. Harry flopped on the bed and Louis felt like he was undressing a baby giraffe instead of a forty-year-old millionaire while wrestling his clothes off from his body. 

“I’m tired, Lou,” Harry mumbled sleepily, falling back down on the mattress and going to sleep barely before his head reached the pillow. 

Louis watched him with a sad smile on his lips, covered him up, and brushed his cheekbone lightly with the pad of his thumb, then placed a lingering kiss to his forehead. Then he checked to see he had the keys and left the room. He walked past the reception entrance and crossed the street. A red CVS sign contrasted against the dark starlit sky as Louis strode into the store. 

He retrieved a basket and swiftly picked a few necessities from off the shelves, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. He paid for his items and once outside, he lit his last cigarette for the night taking harsh drags before stubbing it out on the pavement in front of the door. The smoke burned his lungs and something stung his eyes before heading into their room. Angrily he swiped his hand over them, leaning against the unopened door.

Louis turned around after a few moments and swiped the key card into the reader and pushed the door open once the light changed to green. Harry was still sleeping — he didn’t even stir when Louis entered the room. He loaded the Gatorade and water into the fridge, and dropped the plastic bag on the small table, and walked to the bathroom. Item by item, he stripped his clothes off and dropped them on the floor before he stepped into the shower. He let the water cascade down his body and wash away the frustration. He didn’t know what he had expected from tonight but this definitely wasn’t it; alone in a cold shower trying his best to not have a sad wank. 

What a fucking disappointment, he thought bitterly while drying himself off minutes later. He brushed his teeth, threw the wet towel on the back of the desk chair, and slid between the sheets. For a while, he stared up at the ceiling with void eyes, before sighing and turning off the lights.

**Day 3, Sunday**

8.57 am. 

With a sigh Louis tossed his phone back on the narrow side table, rolling back on his mattress. In his bones, it felt like it was much later. Perhaps because they returned back to the hotel last night earlier than he thought they would have. Therefore Louis has had almost eight hours of sleep — which was more than a luxury compared to his normal rhythm. 

Louis didn’t feel tired though, he felt baffled. 

Last night had been oddly carefree after all, but Louis still didn’t know what to think about it. Although babysitting a drunken Harry hadn’t been part of his plan, Louis wound up having fun throughout the entire evening. It had also been good to see Harry let loose. Of course, the poor guy had suffered the consequences later — and might still be.

A couple of times during the night, Louis had stirred awake when Harry had fumbled his way to the bathroom. Louis hadn’t heard any noises that implied Harry’s nauseousness raged on, he was probably just having a wee. And when Harry had crawled back to bed after the second time, Louis had even smelled the mild scent of minty toothpaste on his breath.

The more Louis let himself think about last night, the frustration he had felt before falling asleep began to rear its ugly head again. He needed to do something before he exploded. Seeing Harry sprawled next to him and naked didn’t help the situation at all.

Louis licked his lips when he looked down to meet Harry’s morning wood, similar to the one he was starting to sport too. Louis let his hand slide lower under the duvet and wrapped fingers around his own dick. He tugged a couple of times, briefly shutting his eyes when the want spread around his body. It had been a while since Louis had the chance to have morning sex, his favourite, and he wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away. Hopefully, Harry would agree with him. If he wasn’t on the same page, Louis would just take matters into his own hands. 

Or hand, for that matter.

Louis didn’t have to wait much longer to find the release he was desperately seeking. Harry rolled over to face him with a pout, “M’sorry for last night Louis. I blame it on the watermelon margarita. Once it hits the lips…” Harry tapped his lip with his index finger, before smiling sheepishly. 

“S’alright Frank the Tank, it wasn’t meant to be last night, it is what it is,” Louis replied before taking Harry’s index finger and brought it to his own mouth, biting the tip.

Harry moaned at the sight, whipped the duvet clear off the bed, and crawled in between Louis’ legs, finding him hard as fuck.

“Fuck, Lou. I’m really sorry about last night.” Harry pressed his forehead against Louis’ inner thigh and began nipping at the skin adjacent to his balls.

Louis threw his head back and thrust his hips in the air, momentarily suffocating Harry, which seemed to light a fire in him as well.

“You sure you’re up for this, Harold? I don’t want you running for the toilet again, that’s not my idea of foreplay, love,” Louis giggled.

“Uh uh, this right here, brought me back to life.” Harry licked a strip from his balls and up the underside of his cock before sucking harshly at the head. Louis twisted his fingers in his own hair before realising it didn’t help him take the edge off the incredible suction of Harry’s mouth, so he plunged his fingers into the man’s curls and yanked harder than he probably should have. Or maybe not, considering Harry was now deep throating Louis in one fell swoop. _Hmm… No gag reflex, this’ll be fun_ , Louis thought to himself before being swept away with the desire to come down Harry’s throat.

Harry had managed to bob his head three times before Louis had his head locked in place as he thrust his hips up and shot his load exactly where he intended. Harry moaned and ground deeply into the mattress before stilling himself and pulling off from Louis’ spent cock.

“Holy shit! That was fucking sick! Are you kidding me right now? Did you just come from me coming?” Louis asked in an incredulous tone.

“Mmmhmmm...” Harry mumbled, his face buried in the downy hairs of Louis' groin. Louis raked his fingers through Harry’s curls, messing it up more than a drunken night’s sleep had managed to do.

“I’m famished after that, let’s eat… Unless you’re full from eating your dessert first,” Louis teased as he jumped out of bed, narrowly missing the large pillow that Harry just hurled at him. 

*

“I’m way too full,” Harry groaned, picking up one more chip from his plate.

“Then you might have to stop eating,” Louis suggested all the while laughing at him.

“I can’t!” Harry dragged the chip through the last of the ketchup and popped it in his mouth. 

“Then we might have a problem,” Louis grinned, watching how Harry licked the salt off his fingers.

“Take it away from me,” Harry begged, pushing his plate towards Louis. 

Louis piled it with his own plate and placed them on the empty table next to theirs. “Happy now?” 

“No, but my stomach is,” Harry sighed, wiping his hands with a wet wipe.

“But otherwise you’re feeling well?” Louis asked in reference to his hangover.

“Yeah, a greasy burger was what I needed now,” Harry admitted, gulping down the rest of his Coke. 

“Can’t deny that. I was glad you suggested this instead of frog legs or summat,” Louis teased.

“Hahaa, funny,” Harry huffed. “Do you want anything else, or should we ask for the check?”

Louis shook his head. “Nothing for me thanks. But I need to wee and then go outside, you know,” Louis imitated smoking.

“I’ll meet you there soon,” Harry replied.

*

“Do you want to walk a little bit before we head back to Miami?” Harry asked after Louis had finished his cigarette.

“Yeah, might be a good idea,” Louis said, rubbing his belly. “Do you have something specific in mind, or just wander aimlessly?”

“No, maybe we could just walk around and see what they have here,” Harry suggested, eyeing Google Maps on his screen before shoving his phone into the pocket.

“It looks so different in daylight,” Louis stated after they had strolled for a while.

“Mmm,” Harry replied, mumbling. 

Something in his tone made Louis turn to him, asking: “You remember last night, right?”

“Yeah, most of it at least.”

“Do you remember us on the dancefloor?” Louis asked, hesitating. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to hear a negative answer. The moment still made his heart beat rapidly and if Harry remembered nothing, it would be a stab right to his heart.

“Of course I do,” Harry replied to Louis’ massive relief. He pulled Louis closer at his waist and kissed him on the temple. 

Louis didn’t say anything but couldn’t keep a tiny smile from rising on his face while he leaned against the side of Harry’s shoulder. He clasped Harry’s hand and they continued walking like that, pausing every now and then if they saw something interesting. 

They had already passed a white building — similar to most of the buildings in the area — when something on it caught Louis’ attention. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” he exclaimed, reversing a few steps.

“What…?” Harry asked bewildered, as he was being pulled in the opposite direction.

“Is this what I think it is?” Louis asked, peering inside.

Harry stepped closer, looked around, and then nodded, “Yup.”

“Want to go inside?”

Harry hesitated a moment but then he nodded again. “I don’t think I’ve ever been inside an adult store before,” Harry confessed, blushing.

“What?!” Louis stared at him, eyes widened. “How is that even possible?”

“Online shopping,” Harry grinned.

“Oh, of course,” Louis nodded. “Not even when you were younger?”

“You make it sound like I'm a dinosaur,” Harry huffed, amused though. 

“What era are you from again, paleolithic?” Louis nudged him, grinning.

“Shut it!” Harry said, sticking out his tongue.

“I guess I hit a nerve…” Louis laughed.

“Do you want to look around?” Harry changed the topic.

“Just _look_ …?”

“Mmm, yeah,” Harry frowned, turning to Louis. “Were you planning on buying something?”

“Why not…?” Louis shrugged as he picked up a pair of lace underwear off the rack and placed them out in front of him. “What do you think?”

“Erm,” blushing Harry mumbled without being able to tear off his eyes from Louis. “They’re sexy.”

“Are they?” Louis lifted them up for a closer inspection but put them back on the rack.

They wandered around the store until they came to the costume section. In unison, they looked at each other, immediately having a mutual understanding.

“Costumes?” Harry asked.

“Costumes,” Louis nodded. “What do you think if we do some secret shopping?”

“Uuh, I’d like that very much,” Harry slapped his hands together. “Do you want to choose first? I can go over there for a while,” Harry tilted his head towards the section of the shop that had shelves displaying the dildos, vibrators, flesh-lights and butt plugs.

“Sure, I’ll let you know when I’m ready,” Louis said, starting to go through the many options. It wasn’t as easy as Louis had thought it would be. Not that there weren’t a lot of options, the opposite in fact. He didn’t know how to best showcase how he was feeling about the daddy kink/BDSM scene they were about to play out.

Louis stood there and contemplated if he wanted to play the ‘innocent first-time’ role or the ‘naughty boy’ role? Decisions, decisions.

“Your turn,” Louis told Harry, after being left to his own devices for ten minutes. 

Louis strolled around the dildo section, studying them but none of them were what he was looking for. At the very end of the same row, he spotted a selection of DIY dildos, available in a variety of different colours. 

_Now we’re talking_ , Louis thought, grinning mischievously. He quickly scanned the instructions and became more convinced this was a definite purchase. After careful consideration, he picked up the hot pink one. 

“I’m ready,” Harry said, walking towards Louis, hiding his costume behind his back.

“I’ll take this too,” Louis said, showing Harry his discovery.

“Clone-A-Willy?”

“Yes, I want something to remember you by. Why not go with your best asset then?” Louis winked.

“Shh, she can hear you!” Harry hushed, cocking his head towards the shop assistant.

“I assume she’s heard much worse than this, Harold,” Louis laughed.

“True,” Harry admitted. “But if you get that as well as the costume, I'm gonna pick something extra too.”

“Like what?” Louis asked curiously.

“You’ll find out later,” Harry said gruffly and walked to the shelf to get something. 

While Harry was making his selection, Louis walked to the checkout.

“Excuse me,” he began conspiratorially, “I thought if you could scan this now and put it into a separate bag I could take it when he pays. I don’t want him to see this outfit before it’s time.”

“Yeah, of course,” she replied quietly, taking the package from Louis, scanning it, and slipping it into a thick black plastic bag. “I’ll give it to you once these are paid for.”

“Thank you,” Louis said, seeing Harry approaching them. “He’s on his way over. I’ll wait outside,” Louis pointed to the front door with his thumb.

Louis was halfway through smoking his cigarette when Harry stepped out carrying the bags. “I was told to give this one to you,” he passed Louis his bag.

“Thanks, hope you didn’t peak.” 

“I didn’t,” Harry huffed.

“But you were tempted,” Louis grinned.

“I can wait a little bit more.”

“What if I can’t?” 

“Then we maybe have to start driving to Miami,” Harry suggested.

“Yeah, maybe we have to,” Louis drawled, trailing his finger down on Harry’s chest to the waistband of his shorts.

“If you move your finger any lower, I’m not sure if I can hold myself until Miami,” Harry warned.

“Maybe we can park the car somewhere and test out how the backseat feels,” Louis said, pulling Harry closer.

“Maybe,” Harry kissed him. “Now let’s go to find the car first.”

*

”Finally, we’re here,” Harry sighed, crashing on the bed of their Miami hotel room. 

” _Finally…_?” Louis turned to look at him, glaring. ”Are we still on that? Really, Harold?”

”I—”

”There was no sign there saying ’Sorry, a trainee at work’. How was I supposed to know it would take half an hour to prepare two chocolate Frosty’s?” Louis ranted, pacing the room.

”I didn’t—”

Louis interrupted him shortly and continued with an accusatory tone, ”And if I remember correctly, you finished yours. Even licked the straw clean. Oii—”

Harry pulled Louis with him onto the bed, shutting him up with a kiss. When he pulled away, he asked amused ”Can I speak now?”

Louis nodded, still slightly annoyed.

”If you had let me speak earlier, I would have said my ’finally’ didn’t have anything to do with Wendy’s incident. Although—”

”Harold,” Louis warned.

”Okay, okay. My ’finally we are here’ really just meant we are finally _here_. Under no false pretenses or hidden agendas. Apart—”

Louis’ insides started to panic, _is he on to him?_ He needed a quick distraction, “Apart from it being too long since I last kissed you, you fool.”

”Ummm,” Harry seemed perplexed but nonetheless he allowed Louis to pull him in for a kiss.

They made out on the bed like teenagers; snogging and teasing each other. It was nice and innocent, but not exactly what Louis had in mind for their last night in paradise. 

“I know what we should do!” Louis exclaimed, rolling off Harry and rushing to his backpack. “The dildo!”

“Like now...?” Harry stared at the Clone-A-Willy package in Louis’ hand, looking at it suspiciously.

“When then? During the flight? The middle of the arrivals terminal? Need I remind you we’re parting ways at JFK tomorrow, and both our lives go back to normal?” Louis reminded him, jumping on the bed, ignoring the yearning that’s clawing its way around his tummy. He tore the package open, pulled out the instruction sheet, and spread it out in front of him on the duvet.

“But here? Wouldn’t that be a bit difficult?”

“No,” Louis said, skimming through the paper. “But we will need a few things.”

“What things,” Harry moved closer, peeking at the instructions. “Hmm… A measuring cup, mixing bowl, a thermometer, a big spoon,” Harry read, his voice not sounding very convinced. “We don’t have those here.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a catch-all store nearby where we could go and buy what we need. Or we could ask to borrow them from the hotel restaurant,” Louis suggested.

Harry hoisted himself up and asked, spreading his hands, “And tell them what exactly? Excuse me, could I borrow your whisking bowl, we’re making a dildo?” 

“That’s one option,” Louis grinned, scrolling the Google Maps on his phone. “Or you could pay a visit to the Publix that's just a few blocks from here.”

“Why me?” Harry asked, pouting.

“Because you have the dick we are going to clone.”

“That really doesn’t answer my question,” Harry rolled his eyes.

“Because I will do all the work, I have to know the whole procedure. You just focus on keeping yourself hard during the process,” Louis explained, focusing on the paper in his hand. Then he raised his gaze and said grinning “But I can help you with that.”

“Yeah, okay, but _later_. I’m not walking around South Beach with a fucking hard-on, Lou. I’ll get arrested,” Harry complained.

“You don’t have to walk, you can drive,” Louis said, winking.

“Give me the list then,” Harry said, opening the notes app. “Anything else?” he sighed, after writing down the items Louis told him.

“A bag of spicy sweet chili Doritos and a Red Bull,” Louis grinned. 

Harry shook his head but grabbed his wallet and car keys from the desk. “Okay, I’ll be back in a bit.”

Meanwhile, Louis studied the contents of the package, read through the instructions twice, and watched a tutorial video where a guy used a banana as his prop. It didn’t seem like an overly complicated process but there were parts where the timing was crucial and it made Louis a bit anxious. One by one, he lined up all the ingredients on the bathroom counter in the order they were needed.

Then he just waited, pacing the room, sometimes peering through the window to catch a glimpse of Harry. When he finally arrived, Louis rushed to snatch the plastic bag from his hand.

“Oops,” Harry said, almost losing his balance.

“Hi, and sorry,” Louis smiled at him apologizing, and dumped the purchases on the bed like he was dumping out Halloween candy. “Did you get everything?”

“I think so.”

“Do you have a cock ring?” Louis asked, studying Harry’s purchases. 

“I don’t recall that being on the list,” Harry replied dryly. “Besides, I don't think they sell them at the supermarket.”

“Smartass,” Louis huffed, gathering the items into his lap. “I meant with you.”

“Why would I have cock ring with me?” Harry wondered, frowning.

“Maybe because of situations like this?” Louis shouted from the bathroom, “And cuz, well, you’re old. You’re not a virile young stud like me anymore.”

“Uuh, sorry,” Harry replied, probably rolling his eyes. “Next time I’ll be prepared better.”

“It’s not necessary, anyway. You’ll just have to dig deep and find your stamina, and then manage to keep it hard for a few minutes,” Louis checked that everything was in chronological order before returning to the other room, reading the instructions aloud one more time. 

“So, how does this go on? Can I read it too?”

“Don’t you trust me?” Louis asked, handing the leaflet to Harry. 

“I just want to know what happens,” Harry replied, avoiding Louis’ question.

“Uh-huh,” Louis sneered. “Are you ready?”

“I guess…” Harry inhaled deeply and rubbed his temples.

“Okay, I can take that now,” Louis grimaced shortly and began to read aloud in a voice that channeled Julia Child. “ _Place the tube next to your erect penis with the open end away from you. Mark ½” beyond the tip of your penis, then cut off the open end of the tube at your mark_.”

“Do I just start wanking?” Harry asked, his hand already starting to lightly tug on his dick.

“I can help,” Louis stepped closer to Harry and kissed him. “If you want me to…”

“Please.”

“Maybe after we have done this, we could pick up where we left off from this morning,” Louis whispered, peeling off Harry's shirt.

“Mmm-hmm,” Harry leaned to kiss Louis, who let his hands wander down Harry’s sides and then slid them under his waistband; teasing but not yet removing his boxer briefs.

“Do you like this?” Louis cupped at his front and gently began to rub him. 

“Umm-mm,” Harry made a satisfied hum.

“Can I take them off?” Louis brushed the area where the sensitive skin bordered his waistband. 

Harry nodded silently, but his eyes were fixed on Louis’ hands, following along with what he was doing.

“Well, hello there!” Louis admired the sight, kneeling in front of Harry after undressing him.

Louis looked up at Harry, lips slightly parted, licking them with his tongue until they glistened. 

“Fuck, your mouth is obscene,” Harry rasped in a low voice, massaging his fingers into Louis’ hair.

He took Harry into his hand and swirled his tongue around his shaft from the base until he reached the head; slow and teasingly. He took the tip into his mouth and bobbed his head up and down only an inch, taking care of the shaft with a tight fist.

When Harry was fully hard, Louis fumbled the plastic tube from the desk and placed it next to Harry’s dick. 

“That was a real mood killer,” Harry complained, handing Louis a marker pen.

“Sometimes you have to suffer for the sake of art,” Louis told him, standing up.

“I’m not the one who will be using it for ‘art’ anyway.”

“Okay then, you have to suffer for me,” Louis grinned, turning to read the instruction sheet again. 

“Not cool,” Harry whined, pouting. 

Louis saw the mirth in his eyes though, so he wasn’t too worried about it. He took Harry’s hand and moved it onto his dick, saying with a smirk “You can play with yourself for a while.”

“Take off your clothes,” Harry demanded. “I want to see all of you too.”

Louis stripped out of his clothes, giving Harry an unobstructed view of his body as his cock swung low and thick. “When I say ‘now’, start the timer,” Louis said, giving Harry his phone. 

“But don’t stop jerking!” Louis warned. “We need a fully erect dick here within two minutes. Once your dick is in the tube, I will make sure you’ll stay hard. Meanwhile, you’re on your own.”

“Okay,” Harry replied, lazily tugging himself off.

“Now excuse me, I have some work to do,” Louis said, winking as he strolled into the bathroom. He turned on the taps and adjusted them until the thermometer reached 90°F. He measured the required amount of water into a bowl and double-checked the temperature.

“Still good?” He stepped out to check on Harry, making sure that he was still hard at work. After noting Harry’s hungry eyes were still trained on him, Louis turned away to continue the task.

He added the powder in the bowl and mixed it until Harry announced the time was up. He quickly poured the mix into a tube and rushed over to Harry.

“Now put your dick in it,” Louis told, handling Harry the tube.

“But the stuff will leak out when I turn it upside down” Harry frowned, looking confused.

“Twist it quickly,” Louis guided. “I guess it’ll harden pretty fast. The instructions say it only has to settle one to two minutes.”

“Fuck, ok. I’m going for it,” Harry declared, and a few seconds later his dick was in the tube, and a minimal amount of plaster fell to the floor. 

“Hahaha, you did it!” Louis cheered, tapping on the timer. “How does it feel?”

“Weird,” Harry winced. 

Louis stepped closer to him and pressed several kisses to his lips to wait out the time.

“You can take it off,” Louis said when the timer beeped. “It should come out easily.”

Harry pulled the tube lightly and his dick slid out smoothly. “It looks proper, right?” Harry asked, showing Louis the tube.

“Looks perfect to me,” Louis nodded, satisfied.

“What now?”

“It has to dry four to eight hours before we can move on to the next step aka filling the mold,” Louis explained.

“My part is done here?”

“With the mold yes, otherwise no,” Louis whispered, kissing him. “We have several hours to fill, what could we possibly do meanwhile…”

“I have no idea,” Harry replied, pressing his hard-on against Louis.

“Do you want to try on our costumes?” Louis asked.

“We could...” Harry muttered, kissing Louis’ neck. “I need to take a shower first. To rinse this off my willy.”

“You can get ready in the bathroom and I’ll do it here,” Louis nodded towards the room they currently were. 

“The bag is next to my suitcase, toss me mine,” Harry instructed Louis, who chucked the bag to Harry and he closed the door behind him.

The door swung open again, “Ok, so, I was thinking we need to umm, come up with a safe word, I guess?” Harry suggested, scratching at the back of his head. 

“Yeah, smart. Ok, so… How about New York? It’s where we met, after all,” Louis offered, and Harry nodded. 

“So, you’re up for this yeah? You feel good about this?” Harry questioned, “If at any point you don’t feel comfortable, just say ‘New York’, and we’ll stop what we’re doing and discuss. Sound good?” Harry inquired, sitting down next to Louis and placing his hand on his thigh. Louis nodded in agreement and smiled. It was intimate, but also necessary for what they were about to do.

“Yes, I’m ready,” Louis confessed, kissing Harry gently before urging him to go get showered and change and into character. Harry went back into the bathroom and closed the door.

_Okay, so this is actually happening. With a virtual stranger. When in Miami...!_ Louis thought to himself as opened his drawer and fished out condoms and a full bottle of lube, and placed them on the nightstand. He picked up the black shopping bag and haphazardly dumped the purchases of the bag onto the bed. He carefully picked up the black cage ribbon panties he bought, knowing it could stay on him the whole time. 

He stripped down to nothing and carefully stepped into the garment. He had to tie the bow up behind his back, watching his fingers work carefully in the full-length mirror. When he tied it as best he could, he sauntered over to the bed and spent the next minute or two deciding what position he would look best in for Harry when he emerged from the bathroom. He settled on a demure pose; leaning back on his hands, with his leg crossed over the other, closed his eyes, and waited.

Not a minute later, Harry opened the door and was wearing nothing but a leather master hat, his hands placed behind his back. 

“Rule one: don’t look at me. If you look at me you will be spanked,” Harry pulled his hand out in front of himself, brandishing a small black paddle and whacked it against the palm of his hand. “Rule two: you will address me as Daddy, and only Daddy or you will get spanked.”

Louis’ mouth went dry and he swallowed what felt like a cotton ball. All the while his dick fattened up in between his crossed legs in the satin material that adorned the front of the panties. He swallowed thickly and nodded in acknowledgment. 

“Right. Face down, arse up,” Harry ordered, as he slowly approached the bed.

Louis scurried out of his position and into the new one, facing the window and panting shallowly for what was to come next.

Harry sidled up to the bed from the side Louis had been perched on and didn’t make a sound or a movement for quite some time. Louis didn’t move a muscle. Harry crawled on the bed and stopped when he was beside Louis’ upper body. He started nipping at Louis’ neck, and continued down the juncture at his shoulder, then his sides, and began to bite down firm when he got to his arse cheek. Louis whimpered a little but didn’t move. 

Harry trailed his bites and nips down his thigh and along his calf. He licked his ankle and peppered a kiss on his heel before pushing his legs apart and licking up the back of the untouched thigh, sucking at the crease between where his thigh ends and his arse cheek began. Harry languidly slid his tongue from the cheek to the hole, swiping and flicking his tongue around the pink skin.

Louis’ arse hadn’t been eaten in ages, he almost forgot what it felt like. “Christ, Harr—.” 

THWACK went the paddle against his arse. “What are my rules, baby?”

“Daddy!” Louis moaned.

”New York,” Harry said suddenly.

Louis popped his eyes open, staring at him, eyes wide. ”Why are _you_ using the safe word?”

”I— I just wanted to know if the spanking was all right…” Harry stammered, biting his lip. 

”It is, it really is!” Louis exclaimed. Perhaps Harry saw from Louis’ hungry eyes he meant it. ”Now, please, please go back to what you were doing,” Louis begged.

”I need you, Daddy.”

Harry’s whole demeanor changed in a split second. 

He said nothing, he simply resumed from where he had left off. In between strong licks, he forced his tongue inside with the aid of his thumb and deftly stretched Louis’ hole until he could get his tongue inside. Once satisfied — and probably about to get a cramp in his tongue — Harry sucked fervently at the rim before pushing his finger in until his knuckle met with Louis’ arse. He pulled out abruptly and shuffled over to the nightstand to retrieve the condom and lube he needed in order to take things safely further.

Harry pumped out a generous amount of lube, slicking up four fingers and plunged finger after finger into Louis’ arse and began to pump them ardently. All the while Louis stayed stock-still and simply moaned until he had no voice left. 

Harry pulled his fingers out again, probably to put the condom on, and after a minute of no contact, Louis braved a look over his shoulder to see what was taking so long. He wasn’t covert enough because he felt another strike against his arse and immediately hung his head down between his shoulders in defeat. 

This was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. 

The paddle wasn’t painful, it just stung on the right side of hurt and made his body come alive. Before Louis could process another thought, he felt firm hands wrap around his hips and felt the warm press of latex against his hole. He wasn’t given any time to get accustomed to the feeling before Harry had pushed every inch of himself inside and began to pump away. All the way in, all the way out. He repeated this action for a few minutes, managing to prod at his prostate with every other thrust. His panting increased, while Harry’s stayed level. 

_How the fuck is he managing to keep an even pace and stay in control?_

“Daddy, m’close,” he cried out, not wanting this to be over this soon. Harry must have read his mind because he pulled out and got off the bed, leaving Louis confused and very needy.

Louis could see from the reflection in the window that Harry was helping himself to a bottle of water. When he put the bottle back down on the desk, he walked past Louis who was still on all fours and picked up his phone from where he left it earlier on the table beside the window. 

He began scrolling through his IG feed and laughed at a video that was playing, judging by the audio clip he could hear. Louis didn’t take the bait and continued to look down at the duvet, readjusting his hands where they rested on the bed to hold himself up.

After another minute or so, Harry walked over to the bed and crouched down. He put his finger in front of Louis’ face and curled his finger up and down, signaling for Louis to get up off the bed. He followed Harry to the window and allowed his chest to be pressed up against the glass.

CLICK, a bright light went off in succession as Harry stood behind him.

Louis felt his hips being pulled back into a pose, so he arched his pelvis back for Harry’s viewing pleasure.

This time the flash lit up again but he didn’t see it go off. He heard Harry encourage him, “That’s it, baby, show Daddy what you got him today.” 

_So, he must be recording this now,_ Louis thought. He felt the ribbon untie; the ends graze down the sides of his arse cheeks and tickle the back of his thighs. Desire and desperation clawed inside his belly. 

_More, I want more._

Louis looked up at the window and watched Harry’s reflection, not noticing that Harry was also watching him. 

SLAP. 

Harry’s hand struck down the side of his hip. “What did I say before, baby? Here’s a hint: Rule one.” 

SLAP. 

Louis realised at that moment that being naughty was actually what Harry wanted him to be. _Okay, if naughty is what he wants.._. Louis’ thought was abruptly cut off without warning when Louis felt the press of Harry’s covered cock enter inside him again.

“Mmmm, yeah, taking Daddy’s punishment like a good boy,” Harry said at Louis. Not to Louis directly, which meant he must be looking at his phone and watching him fuck Louis on his phone.

Louis turned around to smirk at Harry, “I’ve been a very, very bad boy, _Harry_.” 

THWACK went the paddle on his left cheek. 

THWACK went the paddle on his right cheek, producing two blooming red blotches. 

“Are you quite finished, baby?” Harry’s husky voice spoke out from nearby, followed by a nip to the helix of his ear.

The light from the camera shut off and Harry tossed his phone onto the bed. He grabbed Louis by the hips with both hands again. Louis placed his hands firmly against the window and allowed Harry to fuck him furiously against the window, causing the side of his face to squish against the window every half a second from being pounded into mercilessly.

Harry grabbed him by his hair and forced his head to look down onto the street below. “I want you to look at all the people down there, baby. Someone somewhere is going to look up and see me fucking you senseless. And what do you think they’ll say to the people that pass by? They’re going to say ‘Look up there. That naughty boy is getting what's coming to him for being the sassy, slutty little sugar baby he really is.”

With his eyes still closed, Louis was full on moaning now, and emitting little “ah ah ah’s” each time Harry slammed back into him. The thought of people watching them fuck sent shivers down his spine in a foreign type of carnal bliss. He opened his eyes to confirm if Harry was bluffing about the people on the street below and sure enough, two men holding hands were walking by and happened to look up at the hotel window.

“Smile for your audience baby, you’re the star attraction,” Harry cooed, and Louis couldn't help but chase his release, painting the double-paned glass with long spurts of come. Harry buried his cock deep in his arse, fingers pinching the thin skin of his hips, and came with a shout.

With barely a second to recover, Harry closed the curtains and pulled him into a hug, kissing him with everything he’s got. He plucked a few tissues from the table near the window and wrapped the condom in them and hastily wiped the come off the window. He grabbed a new bottle of water and encouraged Louis to drink all of it before walking him over to the bed. He pulled back the covers, tucking him in before getting behind him and curling his body against Louis. Louis loved every fucking second of that exchange and there’s no place he’d rather be in that moment. 

“That was… different,” Harry said a minute later when the daze started to vanish and Louis was feeling normal-ish again. 

“It was, in a good way,” Louis smiled, fully satisfied. “I didn’t know I needed that in my life.”

“Same,” Harry admitted, much to Louis’ relief. He had fully enjoyed their scene and Harry seemed to as well, but it was good to hear him say it aloud. 

“I wouldn’t mind doing that again,” Louis said, drawing figures with his finger on Harry’s bare chest. “Erm, the vanilla way, that is.”

“Me neither,” Harry agreed. “But I need a short break before.”

“Because you’re old,” Louis grinned.

“Haha, funny,” Harry replied dryly. “But yes, I’m not seventeen and raring to go right away anymore.”

“Yeah, I understand,” Louis said. “What do you want to do now? Have dinner?”

“Can we just order a pizza and watch a movie or something?” Harry suggested.

“Pizza...?”

“The round thing, with cheese and toppings,” Harry said cheekily. 

“I know what pizza is, smartass,” Louis snorted.

“But you asked—” 

“What I asked was do you really want a pizza for dinner after the burger for lunch? What happened to your leafy greens, Harold?”

“Hangover, Louis, hangover. I need a pizza.”

“You don’t have to convince me, I was just wondering.”

“Sausage?” Harry asked with a wink after he had found a number for the pizza place. 

“Sure,” Louis rolled his eyes at the innuendo but yeah, it did sound good.. “Do you have a movie in mind you’d like to watch?”

“I do,” Harry replied, grinning. “How about Pretty Woman?” 

**Day 4, Monday**

“Lou, wake up!” Harry’s sharp voice invaded Louis' dream. 

“Mmm,” Louis mumbled with a sleepy voice. He rolled over on the mattress, pulling the duvet up to cover himself altogether. 

“Lou!!” Harry yelled, snatching the covers off.

“What?!?” Louis retorted, scowling at Harry and trying to wrestle his blanket back. He just wanted to crawl back into his fluffy nest and close his eyes.

“We have to go!” Harry jumped out of the bed.

“What— Where....?”

“To the airport!” Harry declared.

“Already…?” Louis yawned. “What time is it?”

“Ten.”

“Ten? What’s the hurry then?” Louis wondered, as his eyes followed Harry as he rushed into the bathroom to gather up his toiletries before dashing back in the room. 

“We have less than four hours until our flight leaves,” Harry informed him in hysterics, staring at Louis as though he were an incomprehensible child.

“Yes, _four_. We still have plenty of time,” Louis said, placing another pillow behind his back to aid him into a half-sitting position on the bed. 

“Do we though?” Harry asked, annoyed. “We have to be at the airport in two hours. We still have to pack, fill up the car, and return it to the rental. And I’d like to have some breakfast, too.”

“We could just eat leftover pizza,” Louis suggested. He was quite sure Harry put the leftover slices in the mini-fridge while Louis had finalised the dildo-making in the bathroom. 

Harry halted on the spot, turning to look at Louis. “That’s what you got from this? _Pizza_?”

“You said you wanted to have breakfast, I told you we might have pizza left. Problem solved,” Louis shrugged, spreading hands to his sides.

“Unbelievable,” Harry muttered, walking into the bathroom and closing the door with a slam.

Louis rolled his eyes and took his phone from the side table. Sluggishly he scrolled; he googled a couple of things and briefly checked his social media. He heard a noise from the other side of the bathroom door. Just before Harry opened it, Louis jumped out of the bed to avoid the big vein in Harry’s head from popping because he was still lazing about. He walked straight into the bathroom, Harry’s eyes following his every step.

Harry was already fully dressed when Louis returned to the room with a towel around his waist. He looked even more stressed than earlier and if Louis wasn’t sure that Harry’s head wouldn’t explode, he would have dropped to his knees with laughter. 

“You haven’t started packing yet?” Harry asked, accusingly.

“No, I was just in the shower. My superpowers were out of order and didn’t function through the walls,” Louis snarled, tossing his towel on the bed. 

“Hahaa, not funny,” Harry said, looking gloomy. He picked up the wet towel from the bed and with a forceful gesture hung it on the hook in the bathroom. 

“I thought it was,” Louis grinned, turning towards Harry. “And seriously, we have plenty of time.”

“But—” 

“Harry,” Louis sighed, walking in front of him. He took his face between his palms and said “Chill.”

“But—” Harry began again.

“I checked. It will take twenty minutes to the airport according to Google Maps. We can add ten minutes for the petrol station and an extra fifteen for the traffic, and still have plenty of time. It’s just half ten,” Louis told him with a soft tone, kissing the tip of his nose.

“Yeah,” Harry said calmer. “But I hate to be late.”

“I know,” Louis sighed. “We can leave soon. The fussing just gets on my nerves. It will take three minutes from me to get my bag packed and you’re almost done, too.”

“You’re right,” Harry admitted, giving a tiny smile. “I forgot to set the alarm and then I woke up and panicked after noticing how late it already was.”

“It’s understandable,” Louis nodded. “If you want, you could go and get us something to eat, and I can pack up the rest of the stuff.”

“Really?” Harry asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

“Why not?” Louis asked. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Mmm—” Harry only muttered but gave up anyway. “Coffee or tea this morning? I could go and get proper coffee for us instead of that instant crap.”

“Tea, please,” Louis said. “And Harry,”

“What?”

“Hurry up, I need my tea!”

*

They had easily made it to the airport. They even had time to have a proper breakfast — just like Harry had wanted. Traffic hadn’t been too bad, returning the Cadillac went smoothly, as well as the check-in. The biggest holdup, as usual, was the security control Louis had just passed through. 

He stopped to wait for Harry when he heard the security officer asking him ”Is this your bag, sir?” 

”Yes, is there something wrong?” Harry frowned, looking worried. 

”Step aside, please. Can I check your bag?” he continued without replying to Harry’s question. 

”Yeah, sure. Of course,” Harry nodded, fiddling with his fingers nervously. He would be the worst smuggler ever, Louis thought when he observed the situation from a few yards away. 

The officer glanced quickly to his co-worker behind the scanner machine, then zipped Harry’s bag open. The first thing that emerged out of there was the neon pink dildo they had made the previous day. Kudos to the officer, he was able to keep a straight face while he pushed the thing aside. The corner of his mouth twitched a couple of times but they never spread into a full smile. 

Poor Harry was red as a beet and looked like he wanted to vanish into thin air. Hearing Louis cackle nearby didn’t help either; Harry scowled at him once, then turned towards the officer.

”Looks like we found the object that triggered the alert,” he said, lifting an almost empty water bottle from the bag. ”You can go now. Enjoy your flight!” he wished him, turning quickly away. 

”I don’t know how that bottle ended up in my b—” Harry paused, making a realisation when they were walking away from the security. ” _Youuu…_ ” 

”Yes..?” Louis asked innocently.

”I’m gonna fucking kill you!” Harry hissed, pointing at Louis. ”And the dildo, do you understand how embarrassing that was?”

”First off, never utter death threats in an airport Harold, you might as well just yell out “BOMB”,” Louis preached. “And yeah, that’s why I didn’t want to have it in my carry-on bag,” Louis grinned, swiftly moving a couple of steps away from Harry.

”We could have put it in the checked-in bag, so neither of us had to have it,” Harry retorted.

”And miss all the fun?” 

”You thought I would think that was funny? At what point did you see me laughing? Hahaa,” Harry deadpanned.

”C’mon, love,” Louis nudged Harry. ”I know you think it was funny.”

”It wasn’t when I was standing there about to be arrested for god knows what!”

”How about now?” Louis asked, grinning.

Harry’s face crumbled into a hidden smile, and finally, he had to give up as the giggles set it. Louis grabbed his arm, pressing his face briefly against it, and hugged him with his other arm. ”I knew you wouldn’t be mad at me.”

”You are pushing my limits though.”

“Only because I know you can handle it.”

“You are skating on thin ice,” Harry shook his head, laughing.

“But you can’t deny it, that was a good one.”

Harry spun around in realisation. “That’s why you told me you would pack the rest of the stuff,” Harry said, pointing his index finger towards Louis.

“How could I pass up that perfect opportunity?” 

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” Louis said in a certain tone.

“Yeah, I don’t,” Harry confessed, pulling Louis closer and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. He kissed Louis on top of his head, practically making him purr like a cat.

Suddenly, it all felt bittersweet. 

They were strolling through the airport — the symbol of travelling. On Friday it had meant the beginning of something new and exciting, now it was a constant reminder of the upcoming end of their whirlwind adventure. Since Louis had caught a glimpse of Harry at JFK, Louis had mostly pushed away the thought of ‘what happens after’. But now every step they took, moved them closer to the gate; then it was just a tiny hop onto the plane and everything they had created together over the four days would be over in a few hours.

Louis had no idea what would come of “them” after. It was clear this bubble they had created in paradise wasn’t going to last. But right now, Louis wasn’t ready to burst it just yet. 

“I want to buy some souvenirs,” Harry announced, stirring Louis out of his forlorn thoughts.

Louis gave him a questioning look which Harry responded to with a shoulder shrug and muttered something Louis couldn’t hear properly. Harry saw a gift shop and dove in, with Louis following closely in tow. 

“Could you hold these for a moment,” Harry asked, placing two huge teddy bears — one mint green and another lemon yellow — into Louis’ arms. Before he had time to react, Harry had already darted between the shelves filled with various sweets and savouries. He chose half a dozen packages and waved for Louis to follow him to the cashier. _Easier said than done_ , Louis thought to himself as he fumbled his way to the other side of the store, barely seeing anything in front of him from behind the massive stuffed animals. 

Harry had already dropped some candies on the counter, before turning to pick the plush animals from Louis and added them alongside his other purchases. 

“Aren’t these adorable!”, the middle-aged woman behind the counter said to Harry while she scanned them into the cash register. 

“I know,” Harry smiled at her widely. Something in his expression, especially in his eyes, made Louis’ belly fill with nervous butterflies.

“One hundred and twenty-eight dollars and nine cents,” she announced, staring at Harry with a furrowed brow.

“Here you are,” Harry handed her his credit card.

While she was waiting for the card reader to work, she kept glancing at Harry. 

“Is there something wrong?” Harry asked, worried.

“Umm, no. No,” she hurried to say. “I just thought you looked familiar but I must have mistaken you for someone else. Unless you were a model quite a few years back,” she gave a nervous laugh.

Their exchange was interrupted when the card reader announced the payment was accepted, and Harry took his card back and thanked her ignoring her question.

“What was that all about?” Louis asked when they walked out of the shop.

“Nothing,” Harry brushed off Louis’ question.

* 

Side by side, they quietly paced through the terminal, only Harry’s soft humming filling the air between them. It felt weird. Suddenly everything has changed — reality kicked him in the arse and now, Louis had no idea who Harry actually was anymore. His head was spinning with too many thoughts and it felt overwhelming. 

The same silence that had surrounded them after they exited the store, continued throughout their flight. The atmosphere was so different than on their outbound flight. Harry had grabbed Louis’ hand the second they had begun taxiing, and hadn't let go before the aircraft was safely in the air and Louis started to relax again. 

Champagne had changed to complimentary sodas, business class upgrade to economy seat and the excitement of something new added to the confusion Louis couldn’t describe. 

The only constant thing was Harry next to him. 

He read his new Murakami until he fell asleep, resting his head against Louis’ shoulder. Louis instead kept staring at the flight map on the tiny screen in front of him, AirPods tucked into his ears, watching how the miniature plane moved on the map. Every minute took them closer to New York — and home — and Louis still didn’t know what to make of everything that transpired over the long weekend. 

It was when they were sitting in the back seat of the yellow cab, teddy bears crammed between them when exhilaration rushed through Louis. 

They climbed out of the cab in front of a brownstone townhouse in a tranquil neighborhood. A narrow staircase led to the wooden door and that’s where Louis parked himself. He leaned against the low metallic fence that felt frigid against his slightly bruised bum. Alongside the chilly New York weather, it was a harsh reminder the Miami heat was definitely thousands of miles away.

”Thanks for the lovely weekend,” Harry finally voiced out in a thick rasp while they quietly stood in the darkness. His eyes never veered Louis’ face and he couldn't help the blush from rising to his cheeks. ”I really needed that.”

”Maybe we should do this again someday,” Louis suggested, looking timidly at Harry from under his fringe. 

”Yeah, maybe we should...” Harry whispered, taking a step forward. He placed his hands on both sides of Louis’ hips, pulling him closer. Louis tilted his head back slightly in a silent invitation for Harry to kiss him. 

Harry let his left hand raise from its perch on Louis’ side, leaving a tingly trail behind. His thumb caressed Louis’ cheek, fingers pressing lightly against his nape of Louis’ neck. His breath was hot against Louis’ mouth and so was the kiss itself. Long and soft, and imbedded with emotion.

”Does this really have to end?” Harry murmured when their lips separated. 

”I’m afraid it has to,” Louis took a quick look towards the house. He was sure the curtain swayed in the downstairs window and a couple of small silhouettes were restlessly jumping behind it. 

”It was fun while it lasted,” Harry grinned suddenly. 

”It was, but you know what?” Louis said with a fond smile on his lips. 

”This life is even better,” Harry continued digging his hand into his pocket and producing a wide platinum band, placing it on the ring finger of Louis’ left hand. Then he slipped a similar looking ring onto the same finger of his own hand.

”It is,” Louis smiled widely at his husband as he stretched up to kiss the taller man one more time. ”I love you.”

”Love you too,” Harry replayed, intertwining their fingers together and proceeded to drag Louis eagerly towards the door where shrieks of joy rang out in the air.

Carefully, he opened it and was greeted by two firecrackers who threw themselves into their legs, screaming at the top of their lungs ”Daddy, Papa. We missed you so much.”

”I know, poppet,” Louis said, picking one of the twins up while Harry did the same with the other, ”Daddy and I missed you two so much.” 

All the melancholy Louis had felt at the airport that accompanied him on the plane had vanished in the blink of an eye. Their little rendezvous had been just what they needed in their marriage, no doubt about that. But moments like this made him understand that this is where he belongs; home with Harry and their kids. 

*

“Is it sad that we need these little vacations to revive our sex life?” Louis asked when they were in their bedroom, getting ready for bed. It had been a busy night but finally the twins were sound asleep in the adjacent room.

“No, Lou, no,” Harry replied firmly, switching off the ceiling light. “I think we are just a normal couple with small children who don’t have as much time for each other as they would like to have.”

“And if we have the time, we are too tired,” Louis added and sighed, climbing into the bed.

“That too,” Harry admitted, settling down next to Louis and snuggling him into his armpit. “But when we do have, the sex is still pretty amazing.”

“It is. I wouldn’t mind if we had more but I’m not worried about the quantity of sex, you know.”

“Mmm…”

Louis turned to look at Harry and asked, “Do you know why?”

“Ummmm...”

“Because we acknowledge the situation and try to find the time for each other. And I don’t mean just sex,” Louis pressed his head against Harry’s chest. “Also this, being close and just feeling you here with me. It’s so important.”

“I love you,” Harry said.

“Love you, too,” Louis replied. “And the weekend was brilliant.”

“It was. I was surprised at how easy and liberating it was to slip into a completely new persona,” Harry said.

“And fun too!”

“It sure was. Although, yours was a pain in the ass sometimes,” Harry grinned.

“Did I take it too far?” Louis looked up at Harry with a slight frown etched on his face.

“Not any more than you already do in real life,” Harry laughed, teasing.

“Oiii!” Louis reached up and twisted Harry’s nipple.

“Just being honest,” Harry said with a shit-eating grin on his face as he rubbed at his now-tender nub.

“Well...” Louis shrugged, smirking.

“But my life would be so incredibly monotonous without your bantering. It was actually the hardest part about the trip, having to act posher than I am,” Harry remembered the experience.

“I think I did just the opposite and removed my filter. Well, the wee bit I still have left,” Louis added after seeing Harry open his mouth to protest.

“And look what that filterless life got us into,” Harry brushed his palm against Louis' bare skin. “Daddy, huh?”

“It just slipped.”

“You have never said anything about a daddy kink when we’ve talked about fantasies.”

“I didn’t know either! It was just after that first slip, it was a joke really when it began to intrigue me. And then I saw it affect you too...” Louis confessed.

“Did you like it?”

“I did,” Louis replied. “You?”

“Yes, I just wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do,” Harry grinned. “I googled a little bit before but it was still foreign territory for me.”

“You did a good job,” Louis praised him. “If you want, we could look into it more and try it again later…”

“I’d love to.”

“Great,” Louis smiled at him.

“Great,” Harry repeated, then falling into silence. He played with Louis’ hair, trying to twine a few tresses around his index finger. When the soft hair refused to cooperate, Harry tugged Louis gently and grinned: "And you just had to drag those sods into it, did ya?"

"I'll have you know that Zayn always manages our flights, and Niall _does_ have a house in South Beach, and together they encouraged me to tap into a different part of myself on this little getaway, and well I guess I did just that!" Louis joined in the humour, smiling fondly.

”Only poor Liam was left out of the loop,” Harry sighed, trying to look miserable.

”Well, now that you mention him—”

”What?” Harry turned to look at Louis with narrowed eyes.

”He helped me to find the car after I told him what I was looking for.”

”So, I spent hours picking us out the perfect hotel and you delegated everything to someone else?” Harry asked, shaking his head amused.

”Not all. I helped Liam fill out the reservation form,” Louis grinned, ready to cover himself with the pillow Harry was fumbling with to throw at Louis.

”I knew it was you. No one else wouldn’t use the name Harold,” Harry huffed. 

”But you did like the car, didn’t you?”

”Lou, I loved it,” Harry smiled, pulling Louis back into his hug. 

“Good,” Louis hummed, pleased. 

“I have one more question,” Louis eventually spoked again. 

“Yeah…?”

" _I watch paint dry_? Really, H?" 

“ _I am twenty-two_. Really, Lou? You’re thirty-nine,” Harry reminded him.

“So? I’m still younger than you,” Louis teased, smirking.

Harry returned the smirk, “By ten months.”

“Yes, and my age still begins with a three,” Louis laughed. “But you’re the hottest forty-year-old man I have ever been fucked against the window by.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Harry muttered.

“But seriously, how did that particular occupation ever even come to mind?” Louis asked, barely containing his laughter.

“I googled some odd jobs and that appeared,” Harry explained, laughing.

“It’s real?!?” Louis asked, eyes round.

“Yeah, I’ll show it to you tomorrow,” Harry promised. 

“You’d better!” Louis exclaimed, shaking his head. “Can’t believe it actually is a job. Not a very sexy one, though. Glad you were rich, otherwise I might have had to ditch you.”

“Would a Gucci model have worked better?” 

“You’re an ex-Gucci model,” Louis reminded him.

“Ouch. That hurt,” Harry covered his heart with two hands, pretending to be offended.

“You still look gorgeous despite that,” Louis assured. “Maybe the Gucci campaign manager would have worked too.”

“Would have been boring to use my real job, though.”

“True,” Louis admitted. “But have I ever mentioned I like you more behind the camera?” 

“Why is that?” 

“Then I get to keep you for myself, and not have to share you with the entire world.”

“You don’t ever have to worry about that,” Harry brushed Louis’ cheek. “You and the kids _are_ my entire world. I see that now clearer than ever.”

“Me too,” Louis leaned up to kiss Harry gently, rolling himself on top of Harry. “Do you know what I just realised!”

“Besides the fact you’re crushing my nuts?”

“Oof, sorry,” Louis winced, stretching his arm out to open his night table drawer and pulled out the pink dildo. “This. Now I have your dick when you’re away on business.”

“And even if I’m in the same room,” Harry muttered.

“Are you jealous of your own dick,” Louis petted the glowing surface of the dildo, then licked it.

“Put it away,” Harry demanded.

“No,” Louis said, taking the head into his mouth. Eyes locked with Harry, he sucked it a few times before letting it slide out and land on the mattress beside them.

“Louis…” Harry warned, pulling Louis closer and pressing their lips together.

“Try to stop me, _Daddy_.”

Harry deepened their kiss. He tossed the dildo onto the floor, captured Louis’ wrists, and pressed them against the mattress above his head, whispering, “Okay baby, you asked for it.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Did you see that coming? I have hidden little easter eggs all throughout, but they were subtle and easy to miss. In the beginning, when I said this fic was really fun to write, this role play aspect made it also interesting to work with. Hope you enjoyed it all the way! 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always welcome. But when leaving constructive feedback, please, choose your words kindly.
> 
> Here is also a Tumblr [post](https://mizzhydes.tumblr.com/post/636512543983222784/freeway-of-love-in-a-pink-cadillac) you to reblog and a Twitter [post](https://twitter.com/mshydestylinson/status/1335196316482351106?s=21) you to retweet, if it is something you would consider to do. 
> 
> If you have something to ask, or just want to say hi, you can always contact me.
> 
> Tumblr [mizzhydes](http://mizzhydes.tumblr.com)  
> Twitter @MsHydeStylinson


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